<< Our Photo Pages >> Caiy Stane - Standing Stone (Menhir) in Scotland in Midlothian
Submitted by Andy B on Wednesday, 23 November 2016 Page Views: 15507
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Caiy Stane Alternative Name: Caiystane; Cetstane; Kel Stane; Camus StoneCountry: Scotland County: Midlothian Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Nearest Town: Edinburgh Nearest Village: Fairmilehead
Map Ref: NT2424368357 Landranger Map Number: 66
Latitude: 55.902341N Longitude: 3.213199W
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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I have visited· I would like to visit
brianlavelle visited on 23rd Jul 2023 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 5
Northernchief visited on 28th Oct 2022 - their rating: Cond: 3 Access: 5 Well worth a visit, impressive in size, cup marks very clear, ring marks not visible. A Mr Forrest has added his name to the varving. Shame the context of cairns and sightlines ruined by development, but significant nonetheless. I’ll post photos asap.
thewulversstane visited on 30th Aug 2020 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 5 The easiest way to find this is from Oxgangs Road, and it's visible from there. The number 400 bus from airport or Royal Infirmary will drop you round the corner from it.
The stone itself is impressive, though somewhat incongruous in it's setting, well worth a visit.
Anne T visited on 28th Oct 2018 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 The Caiy Stane, Edinburgh: It was a good job we had the SatNav to help us find this stone, as all the streets around were called ‘Caiy (something)’ and we could have been driving around for ages!
This is a magnificent stone, set back in a niche backing onto someone’s garden on Caiystane View. It is possible to walk all the way around it, so we saw the 6 cups marks and the more modern graffiti on the back face.
The small sign at the front base of the stone reads: “The Caiy Stone. The Property of The National Trust for Scotland.” The larger sign, on the low wall to the left of the stone reads: “The Caiy Stane. Standing at over nine feet high on a summit, originally with wide views, this broad slab of red sandstone includes a line of six, probably prehistoric, cup marks on its reverse face. / The stone may have been erected as early as the Neolithic period, possibly before 3000BC, to denote a ritual or burial place. Records of cairns, cists and urns found in the immediate vicinity show that the hilltop continued to be used for burial in the Bronze Age. / Discovery of these remains led to the supposition that Caiyside Hill was the site of a battle, variously suggested to have involved Romans, Danes (Vikings); ore Cromwellians. The Caiy Stane, also known as the Kel Stane, the Cat Stane or the Camus Stane, was thought to have been a battle memorial stone.”
Andy B schwagmyre have visited here
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.25 Ambience: 3.33 Access: 5
The hilltop where it is sited continued to be used in the Bronze Age, and it may also have been the site of a battle in more recent times, with the stone as a memorial. The reverse face has six, probably prehistoric cup marks, some old graffiti and some more recent spray-painted defacings.
More information can be found on Canmore ID 51756 which tells us this prehistoric standing stone "is situated in a recess in the wall on the E side of Caiystane View, near the junction with Oxgangs Road. It is a fine monolith of red sandstone, roughly rectangular in section, facing East-West. It measures 9ft 3ins (2.75m) in height, from 4ft 2ins (1.23m) to 5ft 9ins (1.55m) in breadth and from 10ins (0.25m) to 1ft 7ins (0.48m) in thickness. A row of six much-weathered cup-marks may be seen low down on its East face."
This standing stone also features on the Ancient Stones: A Guide to Standing Stones and Stone Circles in the South of Scotland website - see their entry for Caiy Stone, Fairmiliehead, Edinburgh, which includes a description, directions for finding the site with nearby parking, folklore and fieldnotes.
Note: A street with a view: Kirsty Millican visits the Caiy Stane in the Edinburgh suburbs, see the comment on our page for more
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