According to experts from Historic Scotland, the development would blight the hilltop setting of two long cairns at Cnoc Freiceadain.

The quango has also unresolved concerns about the effect Baillie Wind Farm's venture would have on a chambered cairn on the Hill of Shebster.

However, archaeological consultant John Barber maintains the turbines can be absorbed within the cultural landscape. Mr Barber went so far as to say the wind farm could have a positive effect on the outlook for some visitors to the cairns.

The rival stances were outlined on the fifth day of the local public inquiry into the £80 million-plus venture to erect the 110-metre high turbines on farmland at Bardnaheigh and Stempster.

Yesterday's session in Thurso's Royal Hotel centred on the perceived impact the scheme would have on the cairns, which are scheduled ancient monuments.

First on was Mr Barber, managing director of AOC Archaeology Group, who has particular interests in Neolithic cairns and archaeology in Caithness.

Mr Barber accepted that the cairns at Cnoc Freiceadain and Hill of Shebster are of national importance and that the wind farm would have a significant visual impact on both settings. But he insisted that no designed-in sightline at either site would be impeded by the proposed wind farm.

He was happy the landscape is "robust" enough to absorb the intended 25-year lifespan of the wind farm without the archaeological interest being damaged. He told the inquiry: "There would be no loss of cultural value associated with its construction."

Mr Barber pointed out that the visibility between the two sites is already compromised by the Dounreay nuclear plant, the wind farm at Forss and electricity power lines.

He said: "It is in no sense a pristine view but rather a fine example of a cultural landscape view that might actually be enhanced by the presence of a wind farm.

"In the development of a creative tension between old and new; amorphous and highly structured; static and dynamic; the juxtaposition of the wind farm with the ancient monuments of the area will have positive dimensions for some visitors."

Baillie Wind Farm has agreed to improve access to the sites and to make three-dimensional models of the cairns available online and for educational and tourism-related uses.

John Raven, ancient monuments inspector with Historic Scotland's north-west-area team, insisted the turbines would have a major significant and adverse impact on both of the cairn sites.

He described Cnoc Freiceadain as one of the biggest, best-preserved and most important Neolithic sites in Caithness – a view disputed by Mr Barber.

Mr Raven said the cairns were deliberately sited at the top of the hill to take advantage of the wide, panoramic views in all directions.

As with its counterpart at Shebster, he said it is possible to appreciate and understand it in an open landscape which is not dominated or overshadowed by modern development.

Mr Raven told the inquiry that the nearest turbine would be 550 metres away from a designated area of national archaeological importance.

"The wind farm would result in 21, highly visible and moving structures being introduced into sensitive views," he said.

"Many of the closest turbines would have their footings below the cairns and their blades would be rotating almost at eye level with the visitor to the monument.

"In eastern views, both of and from the monuments, nearly all the turbines would puncture the horizon and rise above the monuments."

Mr Raven was concerned the large-scale, "industrialised" nature of the wind farm would result in it dominating the landscape, to the detriment of the cairn sites.

The proposed measures to mitigate the impact have not softened Historic Scotland's opposition.

Last week, landscape architects clashed over the impact the turbines would have on the west Caithness skyline.

Speaking on Wednesday, consultant Alex Schlicke claimed the venture is acceptable in terms of the effect it will have on the surrounding countryside.

But fellow expert Mark Steele maintained the proposed wind farm at Bardnaheigh Farm should be stopped in its tracks.

Mr Steele said it would have an unacceptable impact on residents, popular viewpoints and important archaeological sites.

Mr Schlicke, who was hired by Baillie Wind Farm, concluded that the development is appropriate for the area in question.

He said: "The majority of the landscape and visual effects are reversible and are therefore temporary and would no longer be present after the wind farm is decommissioned after 25 years."

Mr Schlicke claimed the turbines would not alter the character or quality of the landscape.

While acknowledging their presence would impact significantly on nearby houses, he did not believe this would be unacceptable.

Mr Steele, who runs his own consultancy business, said the scheme fails to meet the required buffer zone between a turbine and the nearest house, as laid down in the council's renewable energy strategy.

He pointed out that all 21 proposed turbines are within a kilometre of a dwelling and that 25 dwellings are within a kilometre of one or more of the turbines.

He said: "That makes it not just extremely difficult but impossible to have a scheme that is acceptable in terms of visual impacts."

Mr Steele said removal of four turbines and the shifting of the site further west has failed to lessen the significant, unacceptable impact the scheme would have on popular local viewpoints.

The inquiry has now heard from 15 witnesses, with the remaining eight due to appear today and tomorrow.

The hearing, which is being conducted by principal reporter David Russell, is due to conclude on Friday with a site visit.

n Former Lord Advocate Lord Boyd of Duncansby was in Caithness yesterday for the first commission of his legal career in the county where he spent much of his childhood.

The 55-year-old Labour peer, now a solicitor with an Edinburgh law firm, was in Thurso to represent Historic Scotland at the public inquiry into plans for a wind farm near Shebster.

Lord Boyd moved to Wick in the early 1960s after his father took up a consultant's post at the then Central Hospital. After attending Wick High, he completed his schooling at George Watson's College in Edinburgh before studying politics and economics at Manchester University and law at Edinburgh University.

Speaking before the inquiry, he said he planned visiting his childhood haunts in Wick before returning south.

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