A cairn is a permanent significant (either cultural or social) construction of rocks that were placed by humans as a significant monument.
They are placed for a number of reasons such as; Battle sites, Death Memorial, Burials, Battle Memorials, Hill/Mountain top marker, Start/End/Major markers of trails and Navigational points. Although please note all stone monuments are cairns. In fact, most of them with plaques on them are not cairns.
Multiple cairns placed in close proximity and identified with a single site or location should be a single waymark, multiple pictures are recommended to show the full site.
They can be described in three general groups:-
1. Ancient: Cairns that has been erected in prehistory, bronze or the neolithic era as a memorial or some kind. The intention of these are generally, but not always, lost in time and can in some cases be entirely covered in soil and grass. These can be found by looking on national maps such as the Ordinance Survey maps to confirm their status.
2. Religious/Spiritual: Cairns that are built on religious ground as prayer markers for a single person or multiple people. Often prayer stones are brought along to enhance the monument and leave a prayer or a marker for a loved one or ones. Also some cairns are placed to ward away evil spirits at the edges of settlements.
3. Trail or Summit Marker: Cairns that are placed as markers along paths for walking, cycling and horse riding. In this case the marker must still be significant in stature.
NOT ACCEPTED: Not all things made of stone are cairns. A monument that is made of stone and concrete, especially if the primary purpose is to mount a plaque or other memorial, is probably NOT a cairn.