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Greenbank Ring-ditch is a prehistoric ceremonial monument located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated approximately 365 metres north of Greenbank. The monument consists of a ring-ditch, a circular earthwork formed by an outer ditch that once enclosed a sacred or domestic space, a common feature of Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement and ritual sites across Britain and Ireland. The site lies on bedrock belonging to the Appin Group, formed during the Neoproterozoic era, comprising graphitic pelite, calcareous pelite, calcsilicate-rock and psammite. This underlying geology would have influenced both the character of the soil available for building and the resources accessible to the monument's creators.
The ring-ditch represents a significant phase in Aberdeenshire's prehistoric past, when such circular enclosures served as focal points for community gatherings, burial practices, or territorial markers. The survival of the earthwork's defining ditch allows archaeologists to understand settlement patterns and social organisation in this region during later prehistory.
Greenbank Ring-ditch is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the reference SM11505, recognising its importance as a scheduled monument and ensuring its preservation for future study.
Greenbank, ring-ditch 365m N of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11505. View the official record →
Greenbank Ring-ditch is a prehistoric ceremonial monument located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated approximately 365 metres north of Greenbank. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11505.
Greenbank, ring-ditch 365m N 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 SM11505.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Greenbank, ring-ditch 250m N of (0.1 km), Delachuper, farmstead 310m N of (1 km), Bridge on Old Military Road over Allt Damh Burn (1.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Greenbank, ring-ditch 365m N 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.
Greenbank, ring-ditch 365m N of stands on Appin Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is graphitic pelite, calcareous pelite, calcsilicate-rock and psammite.