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Auld Kirk is a Bronze Age ring cairn situated 150 metres east of Ardgathen in Aberdeenshire. The monument consists of a circular or oval arrangement of stones typical of monuments built between approximately 2500 and 1500 BCE. Ring cairns served both ceremonial and funerary purposes in Bronze Age communities, often marking burial sites or ritual gathering places on prominent locations within the landscape.
The cairn rests upon bedrock comprising an unnamed felsic igneous intrusion of Silurian age, which formed approximately 420 million years ago. This underlying geology of hard crystalline rock would have shaped the ground conditions encountered by those constructing and using the monument, potentially influencing site selection and the practical difficulties of stone extraction for the cairn's construction.
The ring cairn is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6. The site represents an important survival of Bronze Age ritual and funerary practice within Aberdeenshire, contributing to understanding of prehistoric settlement patterns and ceremonial landscapes in northeast Scotland during the second millennium BCE.
Auld Kirk, ring cairn 150m E of Ardgathen is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6. View the official record →
Auld Kirk is a Bronze Age ring cairn situated 150 metres east of Ardgathen in Aberdeenshire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6.
Auld Kirk, ring cairn 150m E of Ardgathen dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a ring cairn 150m e of ardgathen. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Auld Kirk, ring cairn 150m E of Ardgathen 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 SM6.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Druidsfield stone circle, Montgarrie (2 km), Asloun Castle (2.6 km), North Strone, stone circle 200m SSW of (3.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Auld Kirk, ring cairn 150m E of Ardgathen'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.
Auld Kirk, ring cairn 150m E of Ardgathen stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Ordovician To Silurian, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is felsic-rock.