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# Burnt Mound 380m NW of Dale, Eday
A burnt mound 380m north-west of Dale, Eday is a Scheduled Monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland. The site lies on Orkney's eastern isle, where Middle Devonian sandstone bedrock underlies the landscape. Burnt mounds are Bronze Age structures created by repeated heating and quenching of stones, typically to heat water for cooking, bathing or industrial processes. The fired stones eventually accumulated into distinctive mounds, often found near water sources suitable for their function.
At this location, the underlying geology of sandstone with associated siltstone and marl would have provided suitable stone for heating. The Orkney burnt mounds cluster suggests intensive settlement and activity during the Bronze Age, when such facilities may have served as communal resources across the islands. The survival of burnt mounds across Orkney reflects both the enduring value of these structures and the region's particular archaeological record.
The monument remains largely unexcavated, preserving evidence of Bronze Age domestic and economic practices within its deposits. Its protection recognises the importance of understanding prehistoric life in island communities and the technological knowledge embedded in these simple but deliberate constructions.
Dale, burnt mound 380m NW of, Eday is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1257. View the official record →
# Burnt Mound 380m NW of Dale, Eday A burnt mound 380m north-west of Dale, Eday is a Scheduled Monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1257.
Dale, burnt mound 380m NW of, Eday 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 SM1257.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Burn of Mussetter,standing stone on E side of (2.7 km), Eday Church Hall, chambered cairn 260m WNW of (3.1 km), The Manse, chambered cairn and church 330m WNW of, Eday (3.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Dale, burnt mound 380m NW of, Eday'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.
Dale, burnt mound 380m NW of, Eday stands on Middle Devonian sandstone, bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is major:{sandstone}, Minor{siltstone,marl}.