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Balnacraig cairn is a stone burial monument situated in Perthshire, in the Southern Highlands of Scotland. The cairn stands 370 metres north-north-west of Balnacraig, occupying ground underlain by Middle Cambrian psammite and pelite bedrock of the Southern Highland Group. This ancient metamorphic foundation would have presented a challenging landscape for cairn construction, requiring builders to work with locally gathered stone across difficult terrain. The monument is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4319, recognising its archaeological significance as evidence of prehistoric burial practice in the Scottish Highlands. Cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age, serving as communal or individual burial structures and representing substantial investments of labour by their constructing communities. The survival of Balnacraig among the moorland and mountains of Perthshire reflects the enduring character of stone monuments built to commemorate and contain the dead.
Balnacraig,cairn 370m NNW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4319. View the official record →
Balnacraig cairn is a stone burial monument situated in Perthshire, in the Southern Highlands of Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4319.
Balnacraig,cairn 370m NNW 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 SM4319.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Fortingall Church, two stone circles and one stone row, 300m ESE of (0.7 km), Fortingall, rectilinear enclosure SW of (0.8 km), Fortingall, pit-defined enclosure 110m S of Carn na Marbh (1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Balnacraig,cairn 370m NNW 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.
Balnacraig,cairn 370m NNW of stands on Southern Highland Group, bedrock that formed in the Middle Cambrian. The rock here is psammite and pelite.