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Blackhills is a Neolithic or Bronze Age settlement site located in Aberdeenshire, comprising a roundhouse, cairns and an associated field bank. The site lies on bedrock of the Argyll Group, a sequence of metamorphic rocks—psammite, semipelite and pelite—formed during the Neoproterozoic. These durable metamorphic stones would have provided suitable building materials for the structures at Blackhills, as well as resources for constructing the cairns that survive at the site today.
The roundhouse represents a characteristic dwelling form of prehistoric highland communities, typically dating to the Iron Age or Bronze Age, though similar structures continued in use across parts of Scotland into the medieval period. The associated cairns, which may have served ritual, commemorative or agricultural purposes, reflect the broader settlement pattern and land use practices of the prehistoric inhabitants. The field bank indicates that the site formed part of a managed agricultural landscape where domestic activity was integrated with pastoral or arable farming.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under scheduled monument reference SM11631, recognising its importance in understanding settlement patterns and land use in prehistoric Aberdeenshire. The combination of residential, ceremonial and agricultural elements at Blackhills provides evidence of how early communities exploited and organised the upland environment of this region.
Blackhills, roundhouse, cairns and field bank 370m NNW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11631. View the official record →
Blackhills is a Neolithic or Bronze Age settlement site located in Aberdeenshire, comprising a roundhouse, cairns and an associated field bank. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11631.
Blackhills, roundhouse, cairns and field bank 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 SM11631.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Mill of Kincraggie, ring ditch 450m NE of (4.1 km), Tomnaverie, stone circle (5.1 km), North Gellan,settlement and field system 350m N of (5.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Blackhills, roundhouse, cairns and field bank 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.
Blackhills, roundhouse, cairns and field bank 370m NNW of stands on Argyll Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite, semipelite and pelite.