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Auchope scooped homestead is a dwelling site located in Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. The monument comprises a sunken or scooped settlement, a form of Iron Age or early medieval domestic structure where the living area was partially excavated into the underlying bedrock. The site sits upon Silurian to Devonian extrusive rocks, specifically mafic lava and tuff of Devonian age, which would have presented both challenges and opportunities to inhabitants seeking to establish their settlement in this landscape.
Scooped homesteads represent an efficient building strategy in upland regions, with the excavated hollow providing shelter from wind and easier heat retention within the dwelling. The practice of scooping out domestic spaces was widespread across northern Britain and southern Scotland during the later prehistoric and early medieval periods. At Auchope, the geological substrate of ancient volcanic rocks forms the bedrock foundation upon which the settlement was established.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the designation SM4827. This protection reflects the archaeological significance of scooped homesteads as evidence of settlement patterns and domestic life in the Borders region during a formative period of Scottish history. The site contributes to understanding how communities adapted their architectural practices to the local topography and geology of the Roxburghshire uplands.
Auchope,scooped homestead 80m NW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4827. View the official record →
Auchope scooped homestead is a dwelling site located in Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4827.
Auchope,scooped homestead 80m NW 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 SM4827.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Outer Cock Law, old roads and linear earthwork (5.2 km), Sundhope Kipp, fort, homestead, settlement and field system (6.2 km), Windy Gyle,cairns 480m & 700m NE of summit of (6.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Auchope,scooped homestead 80m NW 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.
Auchope,scooped homestead 80m NW of stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Silurian To Devonian, bedrock that formed in the Devonian. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.