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Dunsyre Hill Field Systems is a post-medieval field system located in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The site lies upon bedrock of the Inverclyde Group, a geological formation of Osagean age comprising sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. This underlying geology has shaped both the physical landscape and the agricultural potential of the ground, influencing how the fields were laid out and worked by early modern farmers. The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM3371.
The field patterns visible at Dunsyre Hill represent the reorganisation of the Scottish countryside during the post-medieval period, when landowners sought to improve agricultural efficiency through the rationalisation of land use. Such field systems typically feature rectilinear plots bounded by banks, walls or ditches, evidence of the systematic apportionment of land that occurred from the sixteenth century onwards. The specific layout of Dunsyre Hill's fields reflects local topography and land management practices of this transformative period in rural Scottish history.
The survival of these field boundaries at Dunsyre Hill, despite centuries of subsequent land use, provides valuable archaeological evidence of how post-medieval farmers adapted their practices to the local landscape. The site contributes to our understanding of agricultural improvement and landscape change across the Lanarkshire region during the early modern era.
Dunsyre Hill,field systems is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3371. View the official record →
Dunsyre Hill Field Systems is a post-medieval field system located in Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3371.
Dunsyre Hill,field systems dates from the post-medieval period, and is classified as a field systems. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Dunsyre Hill,field systems 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 SM3371.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including High House of Edmonston,tower house (6.8 km), Brownsbank,enclosure 300m SE of Stirkfield Farm (6.9 km), Castle Hill,fort 550m WSW of Candybank (7.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Dunsyre Hill,field systems'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.
Dunsyre Hill,field systems stands on Inverclyde Group, bedrock that formed in the Osagean. The rock here is sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.