Scheduled MonumentsScotlandBraemoor Knowe, cultivation terraces
Cultivation terraces

Braemoor Knowe, cultivation terraces

Scotland
HES SM3186
Site type
Cultivation terraces
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland

Overview

History & significance

Braemoor Knowe is a cultivation terraces monument located in Roxburghshire, southern Scotland. The site consists of a series of stepped terraces cut into the sloping ground, a form of agricultural land management practised from the medieval period onwards in upland areas where level ground was scarce. Such terraces reduced soil erosion, improved drainage, and created level platforms where crops could be grown more successfully on steep hillsides.

The monument sits upon bedrock composed of mafic lava and tuff dating from the Devonian period, part of the Lower Palaeozoic volcanic rocks that underlie much of the Scottish Borders. This volcanic foundation would have shaped the physical character of the terraces and the type of soils available for cultivation in this moorland environment. The underlying geology is typical of the Silurian to Devonian extrusive rocks found across this region.

Braemoor Knowe is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3186, recognising its significance as evidence of past land use and agricultural practice in the upland Borders landscape. The terracing visible today represents generations of labour invested in making marginal hill ground productive.

Braemoor Knowe, cultivation terraces is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3186. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Braemoor Knowe, cultivation terraces?

Braemoor Knowe is a cultivation terraces monument located in Roxburghshire, southern Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3186.

Who is responsible for protecting Braemoor Knowe, cultivation terraces?

Braemoor Knowe, cultivation terraces 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 SM3186.

What other scheduled monuments are near Braemoor Knowe, cultivation terraces?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Woden Law,fort & Roman siegeworks (8.5 km), Dere Street,Roman road & earthworks,Tow Ford to Blackhall Hill (8.6 km), Blackhall Hill,cairns (9.1 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Braemoor Knowe, cultivation terraces

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Braemoor Knowe, cultivation terraces's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Braemoor Knowe, cultivation terraces

Braemoor Knowe, cultivation terraces stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Silurian To Devonian, bedrock that formed in the Devonian. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.