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Blue Cairn is a Neolithic long cairn situated 750 metres east-south-east of Tillyduke in Aberdeenshire. Built during the Neolithic period, the monument exemplifies a distinctive form of communal burial architecture that characterises this era across northern Britain. Long cairns typically served as focal points for collective ritual and the interment of multiple individuals, functioning as permanent markers of territorial identity and ancestral presence within the landscape.
The cairn rests upon bedrock formed from the Argyll Group, a complex of metamorphic rocks—psammite, semipelite and pelite—laid down during the Neoproterozoic aeon. This ancient geological foundation provided the stone matrix from which the monument's builders gathered material for construction. The specific terrain and local stone availability would have influenced both the practical labour of cairn-building and its visual prominence within the surrounding Aberdeenshire countryside.
Blue Cairn is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Scotland reference SM2387, recognising its significance as evidence of Neolithic settlement and ritual practice in the region. The monument survives as an important archaeological resource, contributing to understanding of prehistoric communities and their relationship with the land in north-east Scotland.
Blue Cairn, long cairn 750m ESE of Tillyduke is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2387. View the official record →
Blue Cairn is a Neolithic long cairn situated 750 metres east-south-east of Tillyduke in Aberdeenshire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2387.
Blue Cairn, long cairn 750m ESE of Tillyduke dates from the neolithic period, and is classified as a long cairn 750m ese of tillyduke. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Blue Cairn, long cairn 750m ESE of Tillyduke 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 SM2387.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Balnacraig,long cairn 260m NNW of (1.3 km), Ferrar,hut circle and field systems 300m SSE of to 550m E of (2 km), North Gellan,settlement and field system 350m N of (2.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Blue Cairn, long cairn 750m ESE of Tillyduke'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.
Blue Cairn, long cairn 750m ESE of Tillyduke stands on Argyll Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite, semipelite and pelite.