Scheduled MonumentsScotlandCampstone Hill,ring cairns,cairns and field systems
Bronze Age · Ring cairns,cairns and field systems

Campstone Hill,ring cairns,cairns and field systems

Scotland
HES SM4878
Period
Bronze Age
Site type
Ring cairns,cairns and field systems
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Campstone Hill is a Bronze Age ritual and ceremonial landscape located in Kincardineshire in the north-east of Scotland. The site comprises ring cairns, cairns and associated field systems distributed across terrain underlain by Southern Highland Group bedrock of Middle Cambrian age, composed of psammite and pelite. These metamorphic stones would have been readily available to Bronze Age communities constructing the monuments between roughly 2500 and 1000 BC.

The ring cairns and cairns represent monuments with both practical and symbolic significance, likely serving burial, territorial or ceremonial purposes within the Bronze Age settlement pattern. The presence of field systems indicates contemporary land division and management, demonstrating how Bronze Age communities organised their landscape for agriculture and stock management. The integration of ritual monuments within a working agricultural landscape reveals the interconnection between domestic and sacred activities in this period.

The monument group is protected by Historic Environment Scotland and is recorded under the scheduled monument reference SM4878. Its survival on this exposed upland terrain, where the underlying geology has shaped settlement patterns and resource availability for millennia, provides important evidence of Bronze Age land use practices and social organisation across the eastern Scottish Highlands.

Campstone Hill,ring cairns,cairns and field systems is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4878. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Campstone Hill,ring cairns,cairns and field systems?

Campstone Hill is a Bronze Age ritual and ceremonial landscape located in Kincardineshire in the north-east of Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4878.

What period does Campstone Hill,ring cairns,cairns and field systems date from?

Campstone Hill,ring cairns,cairns and field systems dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a ring cairns,cairns and field systems. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Campstone Hill,ring cairns,cairns and field systems?

Campstone Hill,ring cairns,cairns and field systems 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 SM4878.

What other scheduled monuments are near Campstone Hill,ring cairns,cairns and field systems?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cheynehill Wood,enclosures & field ststems 750m N of Hillhead (2.7 km), Cowie Line, pill box & anti-tank blocks 450m W of Ury House (3.6 km), Clochanshiels,cairns,houses and field systems 500m ESE of (4 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Campstone Hill,ring cairns,cairns and field systems

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Campstone Hill,ring cairns,cairns and field systems'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.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Campstone Hill,ring cairns,cairns and field systems report
Or see a real report first
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Campstone Hill,ring cairns,cairns and field systems

Campstone Hill,ring cairns,cairns and field systems stands on Southern Highland Group, bedrock that formed in the Middle Cambrian. The rock here is psammite and pelite.

The wider landscape

Around Campstone Hill,ring cairns,cairns and field systems

Battle of HarlawBattle (1411) · ~21.3 milesBattle of BarraBattle · ~22.1 miles