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Sinclair's Sithean is a Neolithic long cairn located 1,300 metres northwest of Stemster in Caithness, Scotland. It represents one of the monumental forms adopted by the earliest farming communities of northern Britain during the fourth millennium BC. Long cairns such as this served as communal burial places and were among the most substantial structures erected during the Neolithic period.
The cairn sits upon bedrock composed of Middle Old Red Sandstone from the Middle Devonian period, a geology dominated by conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone formations. This solid geological foundation would have been familiar to those who built the monument, using stone quarried and gathered from the surrounding landscape of Caithness. The monument's construction reflects the labour investment and social organisation of early farming societies in the far north of Britain.
Sinclair's Sithean is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM480, recognising its importance as an archaeological monument. Long cairns in Caithness are relatively rare, and their presence in this region demonstrates the northward expansion of Neolithic farming practices and beliefs about commemoration of the dead. The monument remains a significant marker of early settlement and ritual practice in the Scottish Highlands.
Sinclair's Sithean,long cairn 1300m NW of Stemster is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM480. View the official record →
Sinclair's Sithean is a Neolithic long cairn located 1,300 metres northwest of Stemster in Caithness, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM480.
Sinclair's Sithean,long cairn 1300m NW of Stemster dates from the neolithic period, and is classified as a long cairn 1300m nw of stemster. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Sinclair's Sithean,long cairn 1300m NW of Stemster 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 SM480.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Achanarras,cairn 800m NW of (7 km), Achies, broch 800m NE of (7.3 km), The Shean, cairn 500m WNW of Achanarras (7.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Sinclair's Sithean,long cairn 1300m NW of Stemster'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.
Sinclair's Sithean,long cairn 1300m NW of Stemster stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.