Court cairn

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The remains of the chamber of Teergonean court cairn

The Court cairn is a variety of megalithic chamber tomb found in south west Scotland and central and northern Ireland. They are alternatively known as Clyde Carlingford tombs, horned cairns or court tombs. The term was devised by the Irish archaeologist, Rúaidhri De Valera in the 1960s to cover a variety of different tombs that have certain architectural elements in common.

The Scottish tomb builders generally favoured inhumation whilst in Ireland, prior cremation was preferred for burials placed in their tombs. Most court cairns appear to have been built in the early Neolithic, around 3500 BC, but many remained in use until as late as the Bronze Age transition, c. 2200 BC.

A long rectangular or trapezoid cairn was raised over several burial chambers. The tombs had an elongated curve of stones delineating an outer area at their entrances, called a court or forecourt. In plan this has an appearance of a claw or set of horns and is the characteristic feature of the tombs. A kerb surrounded the cairn. The chambers themselves were sections within a gallery, each separated by jambs or jambs and sills. Some tombs have additional side chambers making them Transepted gallery graves. have forecourts and entrances on opposite sides of the cairn and are known as double court cairns.

They share some structural features with other forms of gallery graves such as the Severn-Cotswold tombs of south west England, implying some form of connection between the builders of the two types.