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Cnoc Leathan is a Bronze Age kerb cairn situated 230 metres south of Upper Breasclete in Ross-shire, Scotland. This monument comprises a stone mound surrounded by a deliberately constructed kerb of larger stones, a characteristic design of cairns built during the Bronze Age across northern Britain. The kerb served both a practical purpose, containing the cairn material, and a symbolic one, marking the burial site as a significant place within the prehistoric landscape.
The cairn sits upon bedrock of the Lewisian Complex, ancient gneiss formed during the Proterozoic era over 2,500 million years ago. This hard, metamorphic stone would have been the natural material available to Bronze Age builders constructing their monument on this remote Highland location. The exposed, windswept terrain of Ross-shire offered limited shelter but provided stone suitable for the substantial cairn construction.
The site is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5461, recognising its significance as evidence of Bronze Age burial practices and ceremonial activity. Such kerb cairns represent important archaeological remains, preserving evidence of prehistoric communities and their relationship with the Scottish landscape during the second millennium BCE.
Cnoc Leathan,kerb cairn 230m S of,Upper Breasclete is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5461. View the official record →
Cnoc Leathan is a Bronze Age kerb cairn situated 230 metres south of Upper Breasclete in Ross-shire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5461.
Cnoc Leathan,kerb cairn 230m S of,Upper Breasclete dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a kerb cairn 230m s of,upper breasclete. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Cnoc Leathan,kerb cairn 230m S of,Upper Breasclete 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 SM5461.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including St Macra's Church,Kirkibost (2.8 km), Calanais or Callanish Standing Stones (2.9 km), Rubha nan Sidhean,cupmarked rocks and fish trap,Kirkibost (3.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Cnoc Leathan,kerb cairn 230m S of,Upper Breasclete'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.
Cnoc Leathan,kerb cairn 230m S of,Upper Breasclete stands on Lewisian Complex, bedrock that formed in the Proterozoic. The rock here is gneiss.