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Holm of Huip is a cairn located in Orkney, Scotland, and is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland. The monument sits upon bedrock composed of Middle Devonian sandstone, interspersed with siltstone and marl—sediments laid down some 390 million years ago in shallow marine conditions. This durable sandstone foundation has supported the cairn through millennia of Orkney's variable climate and coastal exposure.
The cairn represents the funerary or ceremonial practices of prehistoric communities who inhabited the islands, likely constructed during the Neolithic or Bronze Age. Such monuments are characteristic of northern British archaeology, where stone cairns served as communal or individual burial structures, sometimes incorporating internal chambers. The monument's survival on Orkney's exposed landscape testifies to both the resilience of Devonian sandstone and the substantial labour invested in its construction.
The scheduled monument designation recognises the archaeological importance of Holm of Huip within Orkney's rich prehistoric heritage. The island group contains exceptional concentrations of cairns and other Neolithic and Bronze Age remains, making such monuments vital to understanding settlement patterns, ritual practices and land use in Atlantic Scotland during the deep past.
Holm of Huip,cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1278. View the official record →
Holm of Huip is a cairn located in Orkney, Scotland, and is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1278.
Holm of Huip,cairn 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 SM1278.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Papa Stronsay, kelp kiln 120m N of Mill (3.7 km), Linga Holm,mound (3.9 km), Doocot Knowe,broch,Papa Stronsay (3.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Holm of Huip,cairn'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.
Holm of Huip,cairn stands on Middle Devonian sandstone, bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is major:{sandstone}, Minor{siltstone,marl}.