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New Dawn for Dark Sky p13
Dancing all the way to the top p8
island news Edition 34
April 2015
EE FR
& ADVERTISER
PLEASE KEEP OFF THE BARP! Five thousand year old Barpa Langais has suffered significant damage in recent years.
One of Uist’s best-known monuments is in imminent danger of complete collapse. Experts have called for the public to stop climbing on Barpa Langais, the neolithic chambered cairn in North Uist. More than a year ago part of entrance passage to the central chamber of Barp collapsed. The incident followed sightings of a number of people clambering over the cairn in the fortnight before the potentially lethal incident. Dr Kate MacDonald of Uist Archaeology said: “Barpa Langais might look like just a shapeless mass of stones, but the cairn conceals a carefully built passage and inner chamber, designed to hold the earthly remains
of one of the islands’ first farming communities. “It is among the oldest surviving structures in the Uists, a remarkable piece of architecture that has stood up to the elements for the last 5,000 years or so. “It’s a tragedy that the tomb is now on the verge of collapse, largely due to the thoughtless activities of people who clamber over the cairn, treating it like nothing more than an adventure playground. Every time someone climbs on the structure, they dislodge stones, adding to the stresses that risk destroying the tomb.”
Meanwhile moves are underway to repair the damage and secure the cairn’s interior. North Uist Estate informed Historic Scotland, who funded a report on the best way to repair the damage. It revealed that the entrance passage was repaired at some point in the past and part of the reason for the recent collapse may have been the unstable nature of that repair. It was also discovered that the lintels in the central chamber have cracked over the years and are precariously placed on the uprights that support them.
North Uist estate factor and Access Archaeology chairman George MacDonald said: “Unless measures are taken now to support these lintels it is likely that there will be further movement of the lintels in the near future. “Because of the significance of this monument it is important that steps are taken to strengthen the integrity of the structure and local structural engineer Angus MacNab is currently working on a scheme of work to cost the project.” In the meantime the Estate has restricted access to the inside of the cairn and commissioned a sign to explain the situation to visitors. Access Archaeology, Uist’s community archaeology group, will act as the applicants to draw down the necessary funding to carry out the repairs.