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Caiplie Caves is a medieval site in Fife, Scotland, comprising a series of natural cavities cut into bedrock of the Strathclyde Group, a sedimentary formation dating to the Visean period. The caves preserve Early Christian and medieval carvings of significant archaeological interest, indicating sustained use of the site across these periods. The soft sedimentary geology of the site made the rock amenable to carving, allowing inhabitants to create and modify the caves over centuries.
The carvings within Caiplie Caves demonstrate the site's importance as a place of habitation and possibly religious significance during the Early Christian period and the medieval centuries that followed. The combination of natural cave formation and human modification created spaces that could be adapted for domestic or ritual purposes. The survival of the carved marks provides rare evidence of how communities in medieval Fife utilised natural rock formations.
Caiplie Caves is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM8121, recognising its archaeological and historical importance. The site's location in the Fife landscape, with its distinctive Strathclyde Group geology, remains a valuable resource for understanding settlement patterns and cultural practices in Early Christian and medieval Scotland.
Caiplie, caves, Early Christian and medieval carvings 1140m NE of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM8121. View the official record →
Caiplie Caves is a medieval site in Fife, Scotland, comprising a series of natural cavities cut into bedrock of the Strathclyde Group, a sedimentary formation dating to the Visean period. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM8121.
Caiplie, caves, Early Christian and medieval carvings 1140m NE of dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a caves, early christian and medieval carvings. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Caiplie, caves, Early Christian and medieval carvings 1140m NE 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 SM8121.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Victoria Gardens, cross slab 25m E of 1 Wingfield (2.3 km), West Pitcorthie, standing stone 225m NE of (3.1 km), Skeith Stone,300m SW of Kilrenny Mains (3.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Caiplie, caves, Early Christian and medieval carvings 1140m NE 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.
Caiplie, caves, Early Christian and medieval carvings 1140m NE of stands on Strathclyde Group, bedrock that formed in the Visean. The rock here is sedimentary rock cycles, strathclyde group type.