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Bonnie Laws is a cairn situated 700 metres north of Cocklawfoot in Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. The monument stands upon bedrock composed of Silurian to Devonian extrusive rocks, specifically mafic lavas and tuffs formed during the Devonian period. This ancient volcanic geology provides the stone-rich landscape from which the cairn's materials were gathered.
The cairn represents a Bronze Age burial monument, a form of ritual and commemorative structure built across upland Britain during the second millennium before the present. Such cairns functioned as repositories for cremated human remains and were often central to early funeral rites. The monument's survival in this moorland setting reflects both its original construction on marginal ground and the limited agricultural disturbance it has subsequently experienced.
The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the national monuments record reference SM4994, recognising its archaeological significance. The cairn contributes to understanding Bronze Age settlement patterns and burial practices across the Borders region, whilst its landscape position on the volcanic bedrock demonstrates how prehistoric communities utilised the naturally available stone for monumental construction.
Bonnie Laws,cairn 700m N of Cocklawfoot is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4994. View the official record →
Bonnie Laws is a cairn situated 700 metres north of Cocklawfoot in Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4994.
Bonnie Laws,cairn 700m N of Cocklawfoot 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 SM4994.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Windy Gyle,cairns 480m & 700m NE of summit of (3.8 km), Round cairn west of Windy Gyle, 680m WNW of Russell's Cairn (4 km), Russell's Cairn on Windy Gyle (4.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Bonnie Laws,cairn 700m N of Cocklawfoot'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.
Bonnie Laws,cairn 700m N of Cocklawfoot stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Silurian To Devonian, bedrock that formed in the Devonian. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.