Bones of a young person and fragments of urns. That is what was found here at Cashtal yn Ard.
Welcome to Cashtal yn Ard. It is Manx for Castle of the Heights. This well-preserved Neolithic chambered tomb offers amazing views. Look out across Maughold and the sea to Cumbria.
Cashtal yn Ard is a significant megalithic tomb. It stands as one of the best-preserved Neolithic monuments. You will find it here on the Isle of Man.
Dating back to around 3000 BC, this long cairn is exceptional. Until Victorian times, people linked it to the Viking King Orry. They saw it as his castle. Even its name suggests it was a fort.
Scientific digs in 1932-33 revealed its true age. These digs shaped the site we see today. Most of the cairn was removed. Fallen stones were put back. New stones marked with their erection date replaced missing ones in the forecourt.
Before the cairn, three features marked this spot. At the west end, a small stone cist had a low mound. The forecourt’s facade disturbed it. East of the forecourt, burnt stones lay on stone flags. This may have been a cremation platform. A large standing stone stood at the south-eastern end.
Visible remains show the cairn’s structural parts. Most stones were under the stone and earth cairn. An 1820s picture shows the cairn almost complete. By the 1880s, most of it was gone.
At the west end, large stones formed a U-shaped forecourt. Low portal stones marked the entrance. Taller stones stood to each side. The facade likely decreased in height beyond these stones. Dry-stone walling filled gaps to support the cairn. The taller stones cast shadows across the paved forecourt. Rituals took place here leaving charcoal.
The portal stones have quartz veins. This may have held special meaning. The north stone has slight cup-marks. Whether these were carved before or after the cairn is unknown.
The portal leads to the chamber. Large stone slabs form it. Partitions divide it into five units. One slab suggests the chamber had a roof. The chambers once held burials and pottery. Some are now in the Manx Museum.
Slabs defined the cairn’s perimeter. They retained a small cairn over the chambers. Later, a second kerb retained a larger cairn. This covered the original cairn and cremation platform.
This kerb is visible on the south side. You can see it under the modern field wall to the north and east.
Excavations found flints and Neolithic pottery shards. They also found at least 125 white sea pebbles. No bones were found in the 1930s dig. But, an earlier dig found bone fragments of a young person. They also found pieces of urns.
Fleure and Neely saw similarities between Cashtal yn Ard and cairns in Sardinia and Cheshire.
So here we stand. Cashtal yn Ard. Castle of the Heights. A place of ancient rituals and burials. It connects us to the Neolithic people of the Isle of Man. Take a moment to reflect on their lives. Consider their beliefs. Imagine them building this monument.