A pile of stones stacked on top of each other, often built as a landmark, grave marker, or trail marker in mountains and wilderness.
From Scottish Gaelic 'cairn' (heap of stones). The word entered English in the 17th century through Scottish usage, originally referring to the ancient stone burial mounds of the Highlands.
Cairns are humanity's oldest GPS system—hikers still use them to mark trails on mountains, and prehistoric peoples built them as tombs and territorial markers, which is why finding an ancient cairn feels like discovering a message from the past.
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