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Hen Law is a cairn situated on high moorland in Berwickshire, approximately 1550 metres west-north-west of Langtonlees. The monument stands on bedrock formed by an unnamed igneous intrusion of Carboniferous to Permian age, composed of felsic rock laid down during the Permian period. This geological foundation provides the stone-rich substrate typical of the Southern Uplands landscape where such burial monuments were constructed.
The cairn represents a funerary monument likely dating to the Bronze Age, when the practice of creating stone heaps over burial deposits was widespread across upland Britain and Scotland. The high moorland setting, remote from later settlement, has helped preserve the site through the centuries. Such cairns typically contained crouched inhumations or cremated remains, though the contents of this particular example remain unrecorded.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the scheduled ancient monument reference SM4548, ensuring its preservation as an important element of the prehistoric archaeological record of the Borders region. The moorland location has ensured its survival largely undisturbed, maintaining its character as a Bronze Age burial monument in one of Scotland's upland landscapes.
Hen Law,cairn 1550m WNW of Langtonlees is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4548. View the official record →
Hen Law is a cairn situated on high moorland in Berwickshire, approximately 1550 metres west-north-west of Langtonlees. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4548.
Hen Law,cairn 1550m WNW of Langtonlees 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 SM4548.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Fort, 95m WNW of Raecleugh Head (2.8 km), Dirrington Little Law,cairn on summit of (3.3 km), Bedshiel,cairn 950m NNE of (3.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Hen Law,cairn 1550m WNW of Langtonlees'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.
Hen Law,cairn 1550m WNW of Langtonlees stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Carboniferous To Permian, bedrock that formed in the Permian. The rock here is felsic-rock.