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Toum Cairn is a prehistoric burial monument located in Inverness-shire, Scotland. The monument sits upon bedrock belonging to the Moine Supergroup, a complex of metamorphic rocks formed during the Neoproterozoic era and comprising gneissose psammite and gneissose semipelite. This ancient geological foundation reflects the region's long and dramatic geological history, shaped by intense heat and pressure during the formation of the Scottish Highlands.
The cairn represents a form of monumental construction typical of Bronze Age communities in northern Britain, serving as a communal or family burial place. The choice of this particular location, set upon the distinctive metamorphic bedrock of the Moine Supergroup, reflects the landscape available to prehistoric builders in this part of the Highlands.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the designation SM2443, ensuring its preservation for future study and appreciation. Like many cairns in Inverness-shire, Toum contributes to our understanding of prehistoric settlement patterns and mortuary practices in the Scottish Highlands, where such stone-built monuments remain prominent features of the archaeological landscape.
Toum,cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2443. View the official record →
Toum Cairn is a prehistoric burial monument located in Inverness-shire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2443.
Toum,cairn 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 SM2443.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Tullochgorum,chambered cairn & stone circle 450m W of (0.6 km), Petriny Motte, 150m N of Mains of Garten (1.7 km), Tom Pitlac, Motte (2.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Toum,cairn'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.
Toum,cairn stands on Moine Supergroup, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is gneissose psammite and gneissose semipelite.