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Salachail is a cairn located in Argyllshire, Scotland, situated 460 metres north-east of the settlement from which it takes its name. The monument stands on bedrock formed from an unnamed mafic igneous intrusion of Late Silurian to Early Devonian age, laid down during the Early Devonian period when intense volcanic activity shaped the geology of the Scottish Highlands. This dark igneous foundation would have provided substantial stone for the cairn's construction.
Cairns of this type typically date to the Neolithic or Bronze Age periods and served a variety of purposes, most commonly as burial monuments or territorial markers within the landscape. The mafic bedrock underlying Salachail would have yielded naturally fractured stone suitable for dry-stone stacking, a construction method characteristic of prehistoric cairn building across Highland Scotland.
The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the scheduled monument reference SM2541, recognising its importance as an archaeological asset and prehistoric monument. The cairn remains a tangible record of ancient land use and settlement patterns in Argyllshire, contributing to understanding of the region's early human occupation and ritual landscape.
Salachail,cairn 460m NE of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2541. View the official record →
Salachail is a cairn located in Argyllshire, Scotland, situated 460 metres north-east of the settlement from which it takes its name. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2541.
Salachail,cairn 460m NE of is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM2541.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Fasnacloich, crannog 320m S of (5.5 km), Cnocan Dubh,fort,Ballachulish (7.4 km), Tom Beag,inclined plane,Ballachulish (7.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Salachail,cairn 460m NE of's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Salachail,cairn 460m NE of stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Late Silurian To Early Devonian, bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is mafic igneous-rock.