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Earney Hillock is a Neolithic chambered cairn located 720 metres north-east of Granton Mains near Bowermadden in Caithness, Scotland. The monument sits upon bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone, a sequence of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone deposited during the Middle Devonian period. This geological foundation of mixed sedimentary deposits would have provided local stone sources for the cairn's construction, though such materials are generally less suitable for building than the harder igneous rocks found elsewhere in the region.
Chambered cairns of this type were constructed during the Neolithic period as monumental tombs, typically comprising a stone chamber accessed by a passage, all covered by a mound of stacked stone. These structures served as communal burial places, marking important focal points in early farming societies. The Caithness landscape contains a significant concentration of such monuments, reflecting the region's occupation and cultural significance in prehistoric times.
Earney Hillock is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under the reference SM439, recognising its importance as an archaeological and cultural asset. The cairn represents a surviving link to the ritual practices and settlement patterns of Neolithic communities in far northern Britain, and its preservation contributes to our understanding of this transformative period in Scottish prehistory.
Earney Hillock, chambered cairn 720m NE of Granton Mains, Bowermadden is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM439. View the official record →
Earney Hillock is a Neolithic chambered cairn located 720 metres north-east of Granton Mains near Bowermadden in Caithness, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM439.
Earney Hillock, chambered cairn 720m NE of Granton Mains, Bowermadden dates from the neolithic period, and is classified as a chambered cairn 720m ne of granton mains, bowermadden. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Earney Hillock, chambered cairn 720m NE of Granton Mains, Bowermadden 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 SM439.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Stone Lud, standing stone, recumbent stone and cairn 240m WSW of Ludstone Cottage (3.2 km), Halcro Manse,broch 640m S of (3.6 km), Cairn of Heathercow, long cairn, Brabster Moss (4.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Earney Hillock, chambered cairn 720m NE of Granton Mains, Bowermadden'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.
Earney Hillock, chambered cairn 720m NE of Granton Mains, Bowermadden stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.