Memsie Cairn

  • Near Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire

 

Overview

Examine the sole surviving large cairn in an area that was once rich in burial monuments.

Memsie Cairn is a massive, well-preserved cairn built about 4,000 years ago. It was once accompanied by two other large cairns and many smaller monuments, which were plundered for building material.

Today, the Cairn of Memsie stands alone in the landscape. It’s still impressive, measuring some 25m across and 4.5m high. Finds within the cairn suggest it was used for burials into medieval times.

Opening times

Open year-round.

Historic Scotland

Facilities

Download our visitor app

Discover more on the go – the Historic Scotland app lets you find out about Scotland’s most iconic places wherever you are.

Plan your visit

More than 20 of our sites are now open. Please book your tickets in advance.

Become a member

Join Historic Scotland to visit our properties free of charge for a full year and support our work at the same time.

Hire a site for filming

Use one of our fantastic locations on your next shoot for an awe-inspiring backdrop to your work.

Learning visits

Our 300+ historic places serve as creative inspiration for all sorts of learning activities – and for learners of all ages.

Search our events

See the past brought to life by the imaginative year-round programme of events at our properties.