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Canterland Cairn is a prehistoric monument in Kincardineshire, standing in an upland landscape underlain by sandstone and conglomerate bedrock of the Arbuthnott-Garvock Group. Built during the Bronze Age when funerary cairns marked the graves of local communities, it sits on solid geological foundations typical of this region of Deeside. The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM3313.
Cairns of this type were commonly constructed by heaping stone to create burial mounds, often containing cremated remains within a central chamber or pit. The sandstone and conglomerate geology of the locality would have provided suitable stone for cairn construction, and the elevated position offers visibility across the surrounding terrain. Such monuments served both as permanent memorials and as territorial markers within early Bronze Age settlement patterns.
Today, Canterland Cairn represents an important archaeological record of Kincardineshire's prehistoric past. Its survival and formal protection ensure continued recognition of the Bronze Age communities who lived and died in this part of northeast Scotland. The cairn contributes to understanding settlement, burial practice and land use during the second millennium before Christ.
Canterland,cairn N of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3313. View the official record →
Canterland Cairn is a prehistoric monument in Kincardineshire, standing in an upland landscape underlain by sandstone and conglomerate bedrock of the Arbuthnott-Garvock Group. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3313.
Canterland,cairn N 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 SM3313.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Newbigging,enclosures,ring ditches and souterrain 300m SW of (6 km), Newbigging,ring ditches 300m S of (6.1 km), Dun, Roman camp, prehistoric settlement and enclosure, Park House (6.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Canterland,cairn N 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.
Canterland,cairn N of stands on Arbuthnott-Garvock Group, bedrock that formed in the Pragian. The rock here is sandstone with subordinate conglomerate, siltstone and mudstone.