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Balkello is a Bronze Age standing stone located in Angus, Scotland. The monument stands on bedrock of the Arbuthnott-Garvock Group, Pragian sandstone interspersed with conglomerate, siltstone and mudstone. This geological foundation provided the local stone resources available to Bronze Age communities in the region. The stone is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the scheduled monument reference SM6145.
Standing stones of this period were typically erected between approximately 3000 and 1000 BC, serving various functions within Bronze Age society including territorial markers, ceremonial foci, or burial monuments. Their construction required significant communal effort and suggests the monument held considerable symbolic or practical importance for the communities who raised it. The solitary character of Balkello is characteristic of many upland and pastoral monuments in eastern Scotland.
The survival of Balkello preserves evidence of Bronze Age land use and social organisation in Angus. The monument's persistence across more than three millennia, despite subsequent agricultural and industrial activity in the region, reflects both the robustness of standing stone construction and the cultural continuity that marked its preservation. The stone remains an important feature of the local landscape and archaeological record.
Balkello,standing stone is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6145. View the official record →
Balkello is a Bronze Age standing stone located in Angus, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6145.
Balkello,standing stone dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a standing stone. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Balkello,standing stone 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 SM6145.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Invergowrie, souterrains W of TA Centre (8.1 km), St Peter's Church & graveyard, Invergowrie (8.2 km), Invergowrie, enclosure 150m SW of TA Centre (8.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Balkello,standing stone'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.
Balkello,standing stone stands on Arbuthnott-Garvock Group, bedrock that formed in the Pragian. The rock here is sandstone with subordinate conglomerate, siltstone and mudstone.