A “Who, What, When, Where and Why” Guide About Cairns by ShopItLA:

Who are cairns?
Well, they’re not exactly people (or are they?!) so we’ll move straight on to …

What is a cairn?
Wikipedia describes a cairn as a “man made pile of stones, often in a conical form.” Basically, they’re a pile of rocks that are stacked on top of each other to look nice.

When is a cairn?
To know when a cairn is to know where the word “cairn” comes from. The word derives from the Scottish Gaelic word. There are a lot of rocks in the Scottish highlands, I suppose. But one could trace the stacking of stones back to the Bronze Age where stones were stacked on graves. The stacking of stones is marker of many cultures and religions.

You could even go back to Ancient Greece where Hermes was once buried under a huge pile of pebbles thus creating the first cairn!

Where are cairns?
A lot of proper cairns are found in Scotland. Apparently it’s tradition in Scotland to take a large stone from the bottom of a hill and carry it up to a cairn. There’s even a Scots Gaelic blessing that goes: “I’ll put a stone on your cairn.”

Both modern and ancient cairn or cairn-like structures can be found all over the world in practically every continent.

Why build a cairn?
Sometimes stacking stones is just as simple as marking a trail. Or sometimes the meaning is as deep as to mark ones final resting place.

Who are cairns?
Back to this question! Turns out that cairns can be people! Sort of. In German a cairn is known as a “Steinmann” (literally “stone man”), in Inuit a cairn is called an “inunguak” (or “imitation of a person”), and in the Italian Alps cairns are known as an “Ometto” or a “small man.”

Modern day cairns can offer a beautiful and relaxing accent to your garden. You can even add a cairn inside your home to give any room a natural look. There is no doubt that there is a meditative quality to a stack of well-balanced stones.

Companies such as Garden Age Supply collect smooth, natural stones from the beaches and rivers of Java Island in Indonesia and they are carefully and securely stacked and shipped right to your door.

Visit ShopItLA today to purchase your cairn, cairn fountains, large engraved stones for your rock or stone garden or home!