Talk:Cairn

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Cairn

I have an opinion that one of the first Cairns is referred to in the Bible. Joshua Chapter 6, Joshua had just crossed the river Jordan. Then the LORD commands that 12 stones be carried from the River Bed and piled up as a memorial. So whenever you see a Cairn you may wish to reflect on how the Israelite Tribes must have felt as they crossed the River Jordan into what was referred to as the Land Of Milk & Honey. This crossing is not to be confused with the crossing of the Red Sea which was led by Moses. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Special:Contributions/196.209.105.118 9 January 2006‎ ‎:

Probably not the first cairns ever but an even better example is Gilead whose name is literally "heap/hill of stones" (Gen. 31); I just added a Middle East section and entry. Nissimnanach (talk) 19:25, 10 June 2021 (UTC)Nissimnanach[reply]

Proposed merge with Ovoo

oppose - Both articles stand perfectly well on their own, without any content overlap. There's no point in forcing several entirely independent traditions under one title, just because they share a common construction material. --Latebird 22:07, 26 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

oppose — For the same reasons as Latebird and Keinstein (below). Ovoo is a lovely little self-contained article about mounds that are currently used as worship sites by the local culture. The coverage of cairn is far broader. In fact, it's possible to see a point where, with two or three times the amount of information, this article should be further subdivided. For example, the suggestion to split "sea cairn" into a new article has some merit, because those are integrated into a system of navigational marks. Alpha Ralpha Boulevard (talk) 04:50, 2 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry couldn't find how to post, there's this also, about cairns and geopathic stress/ ley-lines: http://www.landandspirit.net/html/geopathic_stress.html . Also, there are other possible references in the Bible to more than just Joshua erecting a cairn, for puposes of being an altar or for a memorial. 219.69.19.79 (talk) 13:06, 5 February 2009 (UTC)grego[reply]

Merging with either Inukshuk or Ovoo, good heavens, no!

Excuse me, but the proposition cannot be seriously founded! I am just an ordinary humanist and no authority on cairns and the like, but can see immediately that traditions, contexts and connotations are different altogether, notwithstanding perhaps accidental overlaps (and not more) in function. Or else, bring together all kinds of heaps of stone in one article (sea marks, boundary marks, mounds cleared from fields ... - most of which are also well-known targets of folklore.) I'm not meaning to dogmatically rule out possible historical connections between these three or a common psychocultural basis - but such things, you handle with in-article reasoning from each respective viewpoint and cross-references. Keinstein 02:42, 1 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
What might provide a useful added arena for knowledge, on the other hand, would be a generic article where the broad outlines and general theories can be drawn - just as there are articles on language families while still each major language has its own article, etc. Keinstein 03:00, 1 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Slightly amended Keinstein 13:33, 1 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Mining Claims

In the US cairns are used to denote the corners of mining claims, and in times past the documentation was placed in the traditional Prince Albert tobacco can lodged in one cairn. This may be required by the mining claims act of 1872. LorenzoB (talk) 20:00, 20 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Rescue/Aid Cairn

In the 1980s, I participated in setting up a first aid cairn on Rawalpindi Lake in Canada's Northwest Territories. It was a cache of supplies to be accessed in case of emergency -- things like a rifle, first aid supplies, dried rations, emergency radio, etc.

Either I'm misremembering what we called the thing when we set it up, or it's an extra meaning for cairn. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 17.202.12.143 (talk) 17:46, 31 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Sea cairns need a separate article

Sea cairns are different from other cairns in these ways: They are part of a modern system (of navigation), they are regulated by international convention, they are planned, they are established and maintained, they are subject to damage, they are mapped, there are historical records of their placement. Now I could be wrong about the specifics. But even hiking cairns -- the next closest thing -- in the US are not similar, they are informal, small, irregularly spaced, unmapped. Comments? Thoughts? Alpha Ralpha Boulevard (talk) 09:18, 21 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

P.S. The anon editor who added the tag appears to be years gone from Wikipedia, unfortunately. I'm not qualified to write the Sea cairn article, myself. This is one of those frustrating situations where the maritime is woefully under-represented in Wiki...regardless of their availability, there is subject matter here, and a experienced sailor should be writing it. Alpha Ralpha Boulevard (talk) 09:28, 21 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

There is very little material. I will remove the split tag until a qualified editor writes an article . It is ok here for the time being. -- Alan Liefting (talk) - 03:29, 14 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Different types

I think we need to differentiate between different types: chambered cairn, kerb cairn, platform cairn, round cairn, and the ring cairn, as we have done on the Welsh Wicipedia. Llywelyn2000 (talk) 11:12, 16 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Etymology

Though I see the page gives the origin ("from the Scottish Gaelic: càrn"), nothing here indicates what this actually means, other than as the original term for such a pile of stones. Can anyone give a clearer definition of the word? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.187.9.79 (talk) 14:51, 29 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified

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Wrong link to the German wikipedia

IMHO, this article should be linked to de:Cairn_(Steinhügel) rather than de:Steinmännchen. I don't know how to do it, can someone please change it? Thanks. --Jochim Schiller (talk) 09:26, 29 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified

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Category:Cairns has been nominated for discussion

Category:Cairns, which you created, has been nominated for possible deletion, merging, or renaming. A discussion is taking place to decide whether this proposal complies with the categorization guidelines. If you would like to participate in the discussion, you are invited to add your comments at the category's entry on the categories for discussion page. Thank you. Crouch, Swale (talk) 21:07, 7 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Criticisms

I believe a section should be added concerning the criticisms the constructions of modern cairns face. Many see them as a nuisance as visitors in public lands pull rocks from the landscape to create them. Their creation could also be seen as an appropriation of culture. I know the US Park Service addresses the problem that both the creation of new cairns and the unintentional destruction of important trail-marking cairns pose. OakleyB (talk) 18:54, 18 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Addition to North America

I intend to add to the North America section by highlighting the significance of cairns/rock formations within the religious and burial practices of indigenous people in North America. There is a fairly great deal of information out there that I believe will make a good addition to the existing content. OakleyB (talk) 18:57, 18 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]