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Cothiemuir Hill is a Bronze Age stone circle located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under designation SM17. The monument stands on bedrock belonging to the Southern Highland Group, ancient metamorphic rocks of Middle Cambrian age comprising psammite and pelite, which have been deeply folded and altered over geological time. This landscape, with its rolling terrain and underlying geology, provided Bronze Age communities with suitable ground for the construction and use of ritual monuments.
Stone circles of this type typically date to the second millennium BC and served as focal points for ceremonial gatherings, burial practices, and seasonal gatherings within Bronze Age communities. The positioning of Cothiemuir Hill within the Aberdeenshire landscape places it within a significant concentration of prehistoric ritual sites in the northeast of Scotland, an area that held particular importance during the Bronze Age.
The monument remains a significant archaeological site and a key element of the prehistoric heritage of Aberdeenshire. Its protection reflects the national importance of Bronze Age stone circles as evidence for understanding the ceremonial practices, social organisation, and spiritual beliefs of early prehistoric Scottish communities.
Cothiemuir Hill, stone circle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM17. View the official record →
Cothiemuir Hill is a Bronze Age stone circle located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under designation SM17.
Cothiemuir Hill, stone circle dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a stone circle. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Cothiemuir Hill, stone circle 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 SM17.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including The Barmkyn, fort and cairn (1.8 km), Old Keig, stone circle 250m NW of (2.1 km), Druidstone, stone circle 50m WNW of (2.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Cothiemuir Hill, stone circle'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.
Cothiemuir Hill, stone circle stands on Southern Highland Group, bedrock that formed in the Middle Cambrian. The rock here is psammite and pelite.