| Summary : Innisidgen Lower and Upper Burial Chambers are two Bronze Age entrance graves situated on Innisidgen Hill. The south eastern entrance grave, known variously as 'Innisidgen Cairn' or 'The Giant's Grave', consists of an ovoid mound of earth and rubble, measuring 9 metres by 8 metres, set within a flattened outer platform about 2 metres wide. The mound rises to 1.8 metres high, with a shallow-domed, turf-covered surface, which is uneven due to an unrecorded antiquarian excavation. The mound has near vertical edges defined by a kerb built of edge-set slabs and coursed slab walling. It contains a well-preserved chamber aligned on an east south east-west north west axis with the entrance on the eastern side of the mound. The chamber measures 4.6 metres long, up to 1.5 metres wide and 1.2 metres high. The walling, consisting of edge set slabs overlain by coursed smaller slabs and rubble, gives a slightly asymmetrical chamber plan since it has a curving south south west side. The chamber is roofed by 5 capstones. The entrance grave 90 metres to the north west, known variously as 'Lower Innisidgen' or 'Innisidgen North' is a circular earth and rubble mound 8.5 metres high and up to 1.7 metres high. It is generally considered to be the best preserved entrance grave on St Mary's. A peripheral kerb of edge-set slabs, up to 0.5 metres high, survives on several sides of the mound and defines a shallow-domed central platform. The mound contains a central chamber north-south in axis measuring 5.4 metres long, 1.3 metres wide and 1 metre high. The walling is of coursed rubble and edge set slabs. Two capstones survive, the largest measuring 2 metres long and 1 metre wide. The chamber formerly contained earth and rubble infill before it was cleared by an unrecorded and unauthorised excavation in 1950. They are now in the care of English Heritage. |
More information : ('A' SV 92201265) Innisidgen Carn (NR).
('B' SV 92111271) Tumulus (NR). (1)
('A'; 'B') Tumuli & Kistvaens (NR). (2)
('A') "Innisidgen Carn" or "The Giant's Grave" (6) stands west of the natural outcrop of the same name, see plan and sections (3); Hencken's 4, Daniel's 2. A well preserved stone surrounded cairn with the surrounding collar visible in the grassed-over area around it. The chamber would probably have been entered through 15ft long passage, now destroyed. Ashbee notes the chamber height of 5ft as similar to Bant's Carn (SV 91 SW 13), much higher than the usual Scillonian tomb and considered by O'Neil (8) to be one of the earlier of the island tombs. The cairn was cleared of vegetation in 1950 by MOW.
('B') "Lower Innisidgen" or "Innisidgen North"; Hencken's 17 Daniel's 1. A small cairn set closely around a well-built and regular chamber, possibly the best on St Mary's; see plan (5). After being soil filled and overgrown for years, it was dug without permission in 1950 and no record of finds is available. The Ministry of Works later cleared the chamber and exposed the kerb. Ashbee (3) describes the chamber as trapezoidal in plan, aligned east/west (p 304). His plan (5) shows it oriented north/south). (3-5)
Further references. (7,9)
Both 'A' and 'B' confirmed as barrows by Russell and visible on air photographs.
('C') SV 91991260 (11) Ashbee (3) describes a high cairn (A 21) 25 ft in diameter, in a bulb garden on Helvear Down" about 1000 ft to north east of Higher Trenowth Farm". Part of the stone surround survives on the east side with the possible upper stones of a high chamber visible on the crown of the cairn.
('D' - Approx SV 92081267). Scheduled round barrow, No 575, at SV 921127, "50 yds SW of Lower Innisdidgen burial chamber" (possibly to be identified with 'C').
SV 92181264. 'A', Innisidgen Carn (name confirmed) is a grass topped entrance grave on the spur of Innisidgen Hill. It is 9.0m by 8.0m and 1.8m high, with vestiges of a collar which fade at the entrance. The chamber is 1.5m wide, 4.6m long, and oriented east/west. Its overall condition is very good.
'B', Lower Innisidgen (name confirmed) lies on a north-east facing slope 20.0m from the present cliff. The cairn is 8.5m in diameter and 1.7m high. the chamber is 5.4m long, 1.3m wide and 1.0m high with two coverstones remaining.The orientation is
north/south. The overall condition is good though the cairn has been much disturbed.
SV 91931265. 'C' is on a north-east facing slope and is constructed of earth and stone. It is 11.5m in diameter and 1.4m high. The presence of a large granite stone 1.9m long, 0.8m wide and 0.3m thick suggests the possibility of a chamber in the cairn. (10-12)
'D' A thorough search of the area revealed no barrow and it is more than likely that the DOE reference (13) is to 'C'.
'A', 'B' and 'C' surveyed at 1:2500 on PFD. (14)
An English Heritage property. (15)
Scheduled. (16)
A separate monument record was created for cairn 'C' above - on Helvear Down - this is now monument record UID 1476577 (see associated record). The Innisidgen Lower and Upper Burial Chambers are related and form an EH property, but there is little reason for them to be grouped with this other cairn in a monument record. (17)
Innisidgen Lower and Upper Burial Chambers are two Bronze Age entrance graves situated on Innisidgen Hill. The south eastern entrance grave, known variously as 'Innisidgen Cairn' or 'The Giant's Grave', consists of an ovoid mound of earth and rubble, measuring 9 metres by 8 metres, set within a flattened outer platform about 2 metres wide. The mound rises to 1.8 metres high, with a shallow-domed, turf-covered surface, which is uneven due to an unrecorded antiquarian excavation. The mound has near vertical edges defined by a kerb built of edge-set slabs and coursed slab walling. It contains a well preserved chamber aligned on an east south east-west north west axis with the entrance on the eastern side of the mound. The chamber measures 4.6 metres long, up to 1.5 metres wide and 1.2 metres high. The walling, consisting of edge set slabs overlain by coursed smaller slabs and rubble, gives a slightly asymmetrical chamber plan since it has a curving south south west side. The chamber is roofed by 5 capstones.
The entrance grave 90 metres to the north west, known variously as 'Lower Innisidgen' or 'Innisidgen North' is a circular earth and rubble mound 8.5 metres high and up to 1.7 metres high. It is generally considered to be the best preserved entrance grave on St Mary's. A peripheral kerb of edge-set slabs, up to 0.5 metres high, survives on several sides of the mound and defines a shallow-domed central platform. The mound contains a central chamber north-south in axis measuring 5.4 metres long, 1.3 metres wide and 1 metre high. The walling is of coursed rubble and edge set slabs. Two capstones survive, the largest measuring 2 metres long and 1 metre wide. The chamber formerly contained earth and rubble infill before it was cleared by an unrecorded and unauthorised excavation in 1950. (16, 19)
A brief history and description. (20) |