Cairn na Burgh Beag

Cairn na Burgh Beag
Scottish Gaelic nameCairn na Burgh Beag
Old Norse nameKiarnaborg
Meaning of name(small) "fort on good land"
Location
Cairn na Burgh Beag is located in Argyll and Bute
Cairn na Burgh Beag
Cairn na Burgh Beag
Cairn na Burgh Beag shown within Argyll and Bute
OS grid referenceNM308449
Coordinates56°31′N 6°23′W / 56.52°N 6.38°W / 56.52; -6.38
Physical geography
Island groupTreshnish Isles
Area1.2 ha
Highest elevation22 m
Administration
Council areaArgyll and Bute
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Demographics
Population0
Lymphad
References[1][2][3][4]

Cairn na Burgh Beag is one of the Treshnish Isles in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland.

The Treshnish Isles from above Port Haunn on Mull. Nearest are Cairn na Burgh Beag and Cairn na Burgh Mòr. Behind are the low flat island of Fladda and the tallest island, Lunga, which obscures Bac Mòr and Bac Beag beyond.

Cairn na Burgh Beag is the smaller of the two "Carnburgs" (as they are nicknamed) at the northeastern end of the Treshnish Isles in the Inner Hebrides. (The other is Cairn na Burgh Mòr.) Cairnburgh Castle, which guards the entrance to Loch Tuath on the west coast of Mull, is located on the larger of the pair. However, an unusual feature of the castle is that its defences straddle both islands: There is a small guard-house and a well on Cairn na Burgh Beag.[5]

Both of these grassy islands are remnants of ancient lava flows, and both have a distinctive profile: They area flat-topped and trimmed with cliffs.

In 1343 there was a reference to the castle of Iselborgh, which was granted by David II to John of Islay, Lord of the Isles along with Cairn na Burgh Mòr and Dùn Chonnuill in the Garvellachs.[6] Duncan and Brown concluded that Iselborg "certainly lay, with Cairnburgmore, in the Treshnish Group"[7] and in 1980 the RCAHMS also believed that "there appear to be good grounds for accepting the view that Isleborgh is an early name" for Cairn na Burgh Beag.[8] There are however other possible locations for this castle.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ 2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland
  2. ^ Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
  3. ^ Ordnance Survey
  4. ^ "Overview of Cairn na Burgh Beg". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 21 August 2007.
  5. ^ "Cairnburgh Castle". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  6. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Garvellachs, Dun Chonnuill (22374)". Canmore. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  7. ^ Duncan & Brown 1959, p. 208.
  8. ^ Holliday 2017, p. 5.

References

[edit]

56°31′10″N 6°22′35″W / 56.51944°N 6.37639°W / 56.51944; -6.37639