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Aquhorthies is a Bronze Age stone circle, cairn and platform located in Kincardineshire, Scotland. The monument comprises three distinct elements arranged within the landscape: a circle of standing stones, a central cairn of stacked boulders, and an associated platform. These features are typical of Bronze Age ceremonial sites in north-east Scotland, constructed between approximately 2500 and 1500 BCE. The monument sits upon bedrock of the Argyll Group, a Neoproterozoic formation of metamorphic rocks comprising psammite, semipelite and pelite, which would have provided the stone for the circle's construction.
The site's configuration reflects Bronze Age ritual practice, with the platform suggesting gatherings or processional approaches to the central ceremonial focus. The cairn may have served both commemorative and practical purposes, whilst the surrounding stone circle would have been visible across considerable distances. The local geology has been instrumental in the site's preservation and character; the hard metamorphic bedrock has allowed the stones to withstand millennia of weathering and provide stable foundations.
Aquhorthies is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Scotland reference SM971, recognising its archaeological significance as evidence of Bronze Age religious and social practice in this region.
Aquhorthies, stone circle,cairn and platform 200m NNE of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM971. View the official record →
Aquhorthies is a Bronze Age stone circle, cairn and platform located in Kincardineshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM971.
Aquhorthies, stone circle,cairn and platform 200m NNE of dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a stone circle,cairn and platform. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Aquhorthies, stone circle,cairn and platform 200m NNE of is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM971.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Old Bourtreebush,stone circle and cairn 250m W of (0.3 km), Auchlee, stone circle 275m NNE of (1.1 km), Auchlee Cottage, stone circle 120m NNE of (1.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Aquhorthies, stone circle,cairn and platform 200m NNE of's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Aquhorthies, stone circle,cairn and platform 200m NNE of stands on Argyll Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite, semipelite and pelite.