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Blackhill Wood is a Neolithic long cairn and associated cairn located in Kincardineshire, Scotland. The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4509. Long cairns of this period typically served as communal burial monuments, constructed from stone gathered from the surrounding landscape and often oriented east–west. The site rests on bedrock of the Arbuttnott–Garvock Group, Pragian in age, comprising sandstone with subordinate conglomerate, siltstone and mudstone. This underlying geology would have provided the stone used in the cairn's construction, with the harder sandstone and conglomerate particularly suitable for building.
The monument consists of a long cairn and an associated cairn, likely representing distinct phases of use or different ritual functions within the same ceremonial landscape. Such groupings of burial monuments are characteristic of Neolithic communities in eastern Scotland, reflecting patterns of settlement and territorial organization. The Kincardineshire location places Blackhill Wood within a region rich in prehistoric archaeology, where scattered cairnfields and individual monuments mark the passage through the fourth and third millennia before the present.
The survival of Blackhill Wood demonstrates the durability of stone-built monuments in the northeast of Scotland. Its protection status ensures that this tangible record of Neolithic funerary practice and community organization remains preserved for study and public understanding of early Scottish prehistory.
Blackhill Wood,long cairn and cairn E of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4509. View the official record →
Blackhill Wood is a Neolithic long cairn and associated cairn located in Kincardineshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4509.
Blackhill Wood,long cairn and cairn E of dates from the neolithic period, and is classified as a long cairn and cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Blackhill Wood,long cairn and cairn E 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 SM4509.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bruxie Hill,long cairn 650m WSW of Ferniebrae (3 km), Droop Hill,cairns 1250m SW of Inches (4 km), Hillhead,long cairn 320m SW of Upper Craighill (5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Blackhill Wood,long cairn and cairn E 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.
Blackhill Wood,long cairn and cairn E of stands on Arbuthnott-Garvock Group, bedrock that formed in the Pragian. The rock here is sandstone with subordinate conglomerate, siltstone and mudstone.