Plural of carn; heaps of stones, historically used as burial markers or landmarks in Celtic regions.
From Old Irish 'cairn' or related Celtic words meaning 'heap of stones.' The term was adopted into English from Gaelic-speaking regions of Ireland and Scotland.
Cairns (and their variant spelling carns) mark ancient graves, mountain peaks, and boundary lines across the British Isles and Scandinavia. They're some of humanity's oldest monuments—simple but incredibly durable since they need no binding or mortar!
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