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Craigengillan cairn is a prehistoric burial monument located in Kirkcudbrightshire, in the south-west of Scotland. It stands on bedrock comprising wacke from the Portpatrick and Glenwhargen formations, ancient sedimentary rocks of Caradocian age that form part of the distinctive Southern Uplands geology. The monument is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland.
Cairns of this type were constructed as communal burial structures during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods, typically built by heaping stones over one or more burial chambers or cremation deposits. Their construction and use reflect the ritual and social practices of prehistoric communities, with the prominent stone mound serving both as a functional burial repository and as a visible marker in the landscape. Many such monuments show evidence of multiple burial episodes across several centuries.
The monument's survival on the Kirkcudbrightshire uplands, where the underlying wacke bedrock would have provided readily available stone, demonstrates the enduring presence of these Bronze Age structures in the regional landscape. Today it remains an important archaeological resource for understanding the burial practices and land use of prehistoric communities in south-west Scotland.
Craigengillan,cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2238. View the official record →
Craigengillan cairn is a prehistoric burial monument located in Kirkcudbrightshire, in the south-west of Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2238.
Craigengillan,cairn 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 SM2238.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Stroanfreggan Craig,fort,Smittens Bridge (2.6 km), Stroanfreggan Bridge,cairn (3.3 km), Braidenoch Hill,cross slabs (6.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Craigengillan,cairn'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.
Craigengillan,cairn stands on Portpatrick Formation And Glenwhargen Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Caradocian. The rock here is wacke.