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Greendykes Shale Bing is a landscape monument in Broxburn, Linlithgowshire, comprising an artificial mound created during the Scottish shale oil industry. The bing originated from the extraction and processing of oil shale from the underlying Strathclyde Group sedimentary rocks, which were deposited during the Visean period and form the bedrock geology of this region. Such bings are characteristic features of the West Lothian landscape, created as waste from the retorting process that extracted shale oil for use as fuel and lubricant.
The monument stands as a record of Broxburn's industrial heritage, when shale mining and oil production dominated the local economy during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The accumulated spent shale formed substantial hills across the area, which have become vegetated over time and now integrate into the contemporary landscape.
The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM6186, recognising its significance as evidence of Scotland's distinctive industrial past and its contribution to the material culture and landscape history of Linlithgowshire.
Greendykes,shale bing,Broxburn is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6186. View the official record →
Greendykes Shale Bing is a landscape monument in Broxburn, Linlithgowshire, comprising an artificial mound created during the Scottish shale oil industry. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6186.
Greendykes,shale bing,Broxburn 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 SM6186.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Niddry Farm,enclosure SW of (0.4 km), Faucheldean,shale bing,Winchburgh (0.5 km), Carledubs, unenclosed settlement, 275m NE of 30 Carledubs Crescent (2.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Greendykes,shale bing,Broxburn'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.
Greendykes,shale bing,Broxburn stands on Strathclyde Group, bedrock that formed in the Visean. The rock here is sedimentary rock cycles, strathclyde group type.