© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland
Deils Wood is a cairn located 350 metres east of Bonnyton in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The monument stands upon bedrock composed of Dinantian extrusive rocks, formations of mafic lava and tuff laid down during the Mississippian period. This geological foundation of volcanic origin typifies the varied bedrock across central Scotland and would have presented particular challenges to the Bronze Age communities who constructed cairns in this landscape.
The cairn represents a funerary or ceremonial monument typical of prehistoric Scotland, when communities marked significant places and individuals with substantial stone constructions. Built from locally gathered stone, such cairns functioned as enduring monuments within the working landscape, visible across considerable distances and serving as territorial or ancestral markers.
The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the designation SM12805, recognising its archaeological importance and contribution to understanding Bronze Age settlement and burial practices in Renfrewshire. The monument's survival reflects both its original solid construction and the relative isolation of Deils Wood, allowing this ancient structure to remain a tangible link to Scotland's prehistoric past.
Deils Wood, cairn 350m E of Bonnyton is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM12805. View the official record →
Deils Wood is a cairn located 350 metres east of Bonnyton in Renfrewshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM12805.
Deils Wood, cairn 350m E of Bonnyton 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 SM12805.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including North Kirktonmoor,cairn 330m SW of (2.2 km), East Revoch, cairn 420m N of and cup-marked stone 485m N of (3 km), Polnoon Castle (3.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Deils Wood, cairn 350m E of Bonnyton'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.
Deils Wood, cairn 350m E of Bonnyton stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Dinantian, bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.