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Doune of Dalmore is a Bronze Age cairn and stone circle located in Banffshire, in the north-east of Scotland. The monument sits on bedrock of the Grampian Group, ancient metamorphic rocks of psammite and semipelite that were formed during the Neoproterozoic. These hard, crystalline stones would have presented Bronze Age communities with substantial building materials close at hand.
The site comprises two distinct elements typical of Bronze Age ceremonial monuments: a substantial cairn, a mound of stones constructed over a burial or ritual deposit, and an associated stone circle. These monuments often served as focal points for community gatherings and funerary practices. The positioning of such features on prominent locations in the landscape, as here in Banffshire, suggests their significance in structuring the sacred geography of Bronze Age societies.
Doune of Dalmore is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM337, recognising its archaeological importance as evidence of ritual practice and social organisation in Bronze Age Scotland. The survival of both the cairn and stone circle together makes this a particularly valuable monument for understanding the ceremonial practices of communities in north-east Scotland during the second millennium BC.
Doune of Dalmore, cairn and stone circle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM337. View the official record →
Doune of Dalmore is a Bronze Age cairn and stone circle located in Banffshire, in the north-east of Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM337.
Doune of Dalmore, cairn and stone circle dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a cairn and stone circle. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Doune of Dalmore, cairn and 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 SM337.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Drumin Castle (0.5 km), Deskie Castle (1.4 km), Blairfindy Castle,20m N of Castleton (2.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Doune of Dalmore, cairn and 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.
Doune of Dalmore, cairn and stone circle stands on Grampian Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite and semipelite.