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Auskerry Burnt Mound is a burnt mound located 260 metres south-west of the Loch of Dinnapow in Orkney, Scotland. The site is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13383. Burnt mounds of this type, known locally as kilns, typically date to the Bronze Age and comprise heaps of fire-cracked stone accumulated from repeated heating and cooling cycles. These monuments are characteristic features of Orkney's archaeological landscape.
The mound sits upon bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone, formed during the Devonian period and comprising conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. This local geology would have provided suitable stone for the mound's construction and use. The proximity to the Loch of Dinnapow suggests access to water, a crucial resource for the site's function. Water was heated in stone troughs using fire-cracked stones and was likely used for cooking, dyeing or other domestic or industrial processes essential to Bronze Age settlement.
The monument's survival in the Orkney landscape, despite intensive agricultural use over millennia, testifies to the substantial nature of these Bronze Age structures. Auskerry's burnt mound remains an important archaeological record of the settlement patterns and economic activities of Orkney's prehistoric inhabitants.
Auskerry, burnt mound 260m SW of Loch of Dinnapow is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13383. View the official record →
Auskerry Burnt Mound is a burnt mound located 260 metres south-west of the Loch of Dinnapow in Orkney, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13383.
Auskerry, burnt mound 260m SW of Loch of Dinnapow 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 SM13383.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Auskerry, settlement 165m SSW of Loch of Dinnapow (0.1 km), Auskerry, three standing stones (0.2 km), Auskerry, mound 275m SSW of The Old House (0.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Auskerry, burnt mound 260m SW of Loch of Dinnapow'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.
Auskerry, burnt mound 260m SW of Loch of Dinnapow stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.