Tulach an t'Sionnaich facts for kids
Tulach an t'Sionnaich means "Mountain of the Fox." It is an ancient stone mound, called a cairn, located in Caithness, Scotland. This special place is found at the northern end of Loch Calder. Over many years, people added to this cairn, making it bigger. Archaeologists, who study old things, dug into parts of it in 1961 and 1963 to learn its secrets. Before they started digging, it looked like a long mound about 60 meters (200 feet) long and 12 meters (40 feet) wide. It was hard to see any special shapes then. The cairn points from northwest to southeast. The southeast end is taller, about 1.8 meters (6 feet) high, and a bit wider. Later, a ditch was dug about 15 meters (50 feet) away from this end of the cairn.
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Discovering the Ancient Cairn
When archaeologists dug into Tulach an t'Sionnaich, they found out it was built in stages. The very first monument was a square passage tomb. This tomb was inside a round cairn that was about 10.5 meters (34 feet) across. A passage, about 2.1 meters (7 feet) long, led into the tomb and faced south. The entrance to this passage was later blocked by a circular stone wall that went around the cairn.
The Heel-Shaped Cairn
The first cairn might have had a special D-shape or heel-shape platform. But soon after, a new heel-shaped cairn was built over it. This is thought to be the oldest heel-shaped cairn found on the Scottish mainland. Its small size suggests it was built a very long time ago compared to other similar monuments. A new stone front was built over the entrance to the passage tomb, but it was not broken through. Some parts of the site were disturbed, so archaeologists couldn't figure out the complete floor plan. This part of the site seems to be about 15 meters (50 feet) wide and roughly the same length. At the northern end, near the ditch, they found signs of dry stone walling, which is building with stones without using mortar.
The Long Cairn Addition
After more time passed, the entire structure was covered by an even longer cairn. This long cairn had a low wall around its outside. Its southern end stretched out beyond the older stone front. This long cairn was about 38 meters (125 feet) long. It was wider at one end, about 10.2 meters (33 feet), and got narrower towards its northern end, which was about 7.8 meters (25 feet) wide and gently curved. This long cairn was built a bit to the east of the heel-shaped cairn. This was probably done to use a natural ridge in the land and make the cairn taller. Most of the long cairn is not very high, only about 0.9 meters (3 feet) tall, except for the southern end. When archaeologists made small cuts into the cairn, they found stone boxes, called cists, built into the cairn's structure.
What We Found Inside
Archaeologists didn't find many objects inside the cairn. However, the pieces of pottery they did find were very important. They showed that the heel-shaped cairn was used during the Neolithic period. This was a time when people made pottery without fancy decorations. The cairn was no longer used during the Beaker culture period. The long cairn was already built before people started burying urns outside the main enclosure.
The Cairn Today
The southwestern side of Tulach an t'Sionnaich, including the chamber, has been worn away by the rising water level of Loch Calder. But the main part of the cairn is still there. It is now covered with grass, looking like a grassy mound on the landscape.
