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Robbed cairns. Another myth?
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rockhopper
275 posts

Robbed cairns. Another myth?
Mar 24, 2012, 22:47
Looking at the Scorhill thread, I see once again a reference to a 'robbed cairn', and the 'treasure seekers' theory. Perhaps its time to take a look at the robbed cairn hypothsis objectively.
During the last several decades, many cairns have been excavated, but to date, as far as I know, no treasure has been found beneath any of them. It seems unlikely in the extreme that anyone wishing to conceal treasure would do so under a large pile of stones that proclaims 'X marks the spot'. Hoards are generally found in inconspicuos places, and only recently by the use of metal detectors. The aim of those concealing treasure was to do just that, conceal it, and not announce it's presence by a very obvious marker.
Doubtless over the centuries, greedy and misguided individuals have dug up cairns to seek elusive riches, but I suspect in almost every case their efforts were in vain. So what are the supposedly 'robbed' cairns?
Over the past 20 years I have encountered many of these enigmatic 'formations' (for want of a better word) and now believe they are monuments in their own right. For if ANY of them had concealed treasure, there would'nt be a cairn left standing in these islands. Think about it. Great pile of treasure under a cairn...Where's the next one?
Once again we blindly follow the academics. Some bright spark came up with the robbed cairn theory, and to this day it has never been challenged. They're not 'robbed 'cairns at all. They are something else entirely.
A lot of these people may have gone to university, but that makes them privileged, not intelligent.
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