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East Bigging is a burnt mound situated 390 metres south of East Bigging in Orkney, Scotland. Burnt mounds are Bronze Age structures comprising heaps of fire-cracked stone, typically created through repeated heating and quenching cycles. These monuments are found across northern Britain and Ireland, clustered particularly densely in Orkney and Caithness. Their precise function remains debated among archaeologists, though they are commonly associated with hot water processing, possibly for cooking, bathing or textile production.
The site lies upon Lower Old Red Sandstone bedrock, dating from the Early Devonian period and composed of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. This local geology would have provided the raw material for the stones forming the mound, though the repeated firing and cooling that characterises such monuments would have altered the rock's properties significantly. The Orcadian landscape, with its flagstone geology and Bronze Age settlement patterns, contains numerous comparable monuments reflecting intensive prehistoric land use.
The burnt mound at East Bigging is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM5286, recognising its archaeological significance. Like other burnt mounds in Orkney, it represents an important record of Bronze Age activity and economic practices in the northern archipelago.
East Bigging, burnt mound 390m S of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5286. View the official record →
East Bigging is a burnt mound situated 390 metres south of East Bigging in Orkney, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5286.
East Bigging, burnt mound 390m S of 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 SM5286.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Billia Fiold, enclosures, platforms and banks (1 km), Burn of Selta, farmsteads, field system and associated remains (2.2 km), Voy, burnt mound (2.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of East Bigging, burnt mound 390m S of'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.
East Bigging, burnt mound 390m S of stands on Lower Old Red Sandstone, bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.