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Fordel barrow and ring-ditches is a Neolithic and Bronze Age funerary monument located in Fife, Scotland, situated 550 metres west-south-west of Fordel itself. The site comprises a substantial barrow accompanied by multiple ring-ditches, earthwork features that typically represent either the remains of additional burial mounds or the ritual demarcation of burial zones. These monuments are characteristic of prehistoric burial practices spanning the Neolithic into the Bronze Age, when such structured ceremonial landscapes served as focal points for community ritual and the commemoration of the dead.
The monument lies upon bedrock formed from the Arbuthnott-Garvock Group, sandstones interbedded with subordinate conglomerate, siltstone and mudstone deposited during the Pragian period of the Early Devonian. This underlying geology would have influenced both the settlement patterns and the construction methods employed by the prehistoric communities who utilised this landscape for burial purposes.
The site is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Scotland's reference SM6795, recognising its significance as evidence of early ritual practice and settlement organisation in Fife during the prehistoric period. The preservation of both the principal barrow and the associated ring-ditches provides important archaeological potential for understanding Bronze Age funerary customs in eastern Scotland.
Fordel, barrow & ring-ditches 550m WSW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6795. View the official record →
Fordel barrow and ring-ditches is a Neolithic and Bronze Age funerary monument located in Fife, Scotland, situated 550 metres west-south-west of Fordel itself. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6795.
Fordel, barrow & ring-ditches 550m WSW 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 SM6795.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Leuchars Castle, unenclosed settlement 320m NNE of (1.5 km), Leuchars Castle, settlement 200m and 400m W of and 240m WNW of (1.6 km), Southfield, unenclosed settlement W of (1.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Fordel, barrow & ring-ditches 550m WSW 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.
Fordel, barrow & ring-ditches 550m WSW of stands on Arbuthnott-Garvock Group, bedrock that formed in the Pragian. The rock here is sandstone with subordinate conglomerate, siltstone and mudstone.