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Banks is a Neolithic chambered cairn located on South Ronaldsay in Orkney, Scotland. The monument sits on bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone, a formation of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone laid down during the Middle Devonian period. This local geology would have provided building materials readily available to the Neolithic community that constructed the cairn.
Chambered cairns represent one of the most distinctive monument types of Orkney's Neolithic heritage, typically built between 3500 and 2800 BC. Banks follows the characteristic form of these burial structures, consisting of stone chambers contained within a mound of rocks and earth. The specific configuration and condition of the monument reflect construction techniques adapted to the Orkney landscape and the particular topography of South Ronaldsay.
The cairn is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13374, recognising its significance as evidence of Neolithic burial practice and settlement in the far north of Britain. Such monuments provide crucial archaeological information about early farming communities and their monumental expressions of social and ceremonial life in the archipelago during the fourth and third millennia BC.
Banks, chambered cairn 25m SW of, South Ronaldsay is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13374. View the official record →
Banks is a Neolithic chambered cairn located on South Ronaldsay in Orkney, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13374.
Banks, chambered cairn 25m SW of, South Ronaldsay dates from the neolithic period, and is classified as a chambered cairn 25m sw of, south ronaldsay. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Banks, chambered cairn 25m SW of, South Ronaldsay 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 SM13374.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Isbister, chambered cairn 450m ESE of (1.7 km), Castle of Burwick, promontory fort (2.5 km), Clouduhall (or Cloddyhall) standing stone & cairn (6.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Banks, chambered cairn 25m SW of, South Ronaldsay'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.
Banks, chambered cairn 25m SW of, South Ronaldsay stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.