The word comes from the Scottish carn which has a much broader sense: it can refer to several types of hills and mounds of natural stones. Obviously, because of the simplicity of the concept, the cairns are present everywhere in the alpine and mountainous regions. They can also be found in deserts and tundras.

A cairn marking the summit of a mountain

Cairn covering a dolmen: The Table of Marchand ( Morbihan )

These traditions derive from the current custom, dating back at least to the Neolithic way of constructing the burial cairns inside. They were located prominently, often on the heights of the village of the dead. Can still be found, and they are often larger than the modern cairns of Scotland. It is believed that these stones were placed there for several reasons, such as deter grave robbers or scavengers. A more sinister theory claims that they prevented the dead to be reborn. It is interesting to note that, even today among the Jews , the tradition is to deposit small pebbles on the grave that we visit. It is possible that this has a similar origin. The stupas of India or Tibet were probably erected for the same reasons, although now they usually contain the ashes of holy Buddhist or llamas.

In Scotland , it is customary to carry a stone to the top of the hill to the place on a cairn. Thus, cairns become increasingly large. An old Scottish proverb says "Cuiridh mid Clach air do springform, that is to say," I will put a stone on your cairn. "

In Britain , the cairn is a stone monument covering graves as large cairn Barnenez in Brittany , built between 4500 and 3900 BC, measuring 75 meters long, 28 wide and home to Funeral eleven rooms.

In North Africa , they are sometimes called Kerkour, and they are also common in Corsica.

In the Faroe Islands , which are exposed to frequent fogs and heavy rains, which have some of the highest cliffs in the world, the cairns are often used as a means of identification in the hills or on rough terrain. In addition, historically, most trips around the islands being from the sea rather than land, the reliefs were often abandoned.

A group of cairns in Corsica

In the mountainous regions of North America , the cairns are often used to mark trails or hiking trails cross country beyond the treeline. Most are small, 30 inches or less, but some are built for higher power than snow. Tradition dictates that each arrived at a cairn, a stone added, maintaining the work and fighting the destructive effects of severe winter weather. Often, it is customary to add only above, and use a smaller stone than the previous one, forming an unstable assemblage of small pebbles.

The cairn as a character

Although the practice is not widespread in French , the cairns are often referred by their anthropomorphic attributes. In German and Dutch , the cairns are respectively called Steinmann and Steenman, which literally means "stone man." A form of Inukshuk Inuit also evokes a human figure, and is called a inunnguat ("imitation of a person").

Regarding religions of antiquity , especially the Greek pantheon, these practices are the cause of the cult of Hermes , the god of travel, trade, exchange, shepherds. The habit of erecting cairns aimed at travelers in locating a target of a route would have to create heroic local cults can be caused to circulate. In Greek, these piles of stone are Hermios.

See also

Related articles

• Megalithic
• Cromlech
• Dolmen
• Inukshuk
• Megalith
• Burial
• Stupa
• Tumulus
• Covered walkway
• Gilgal

Bibliography

External Links

• The cairn Barnenez

• Archaeology portal
• Portal Mountain
• Portal hiking

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