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Kingswells Consumption Dykes are a pair of agricultural features located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated 415 metres north and 685 metres north-north-east of Home Farm. Protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland, these dykes represent the landscape management practices of rural farming communities, likely dating to the post-medieval period.
Consumption dykes were constructed to contain livestock within defined areas whilst allowing the controlled movement of animals between pastures. Their dual placement across the landscape suggests a systematic approach to managing cattle and sheep on this Aberdeenshire holding. The underlying bedrock of Argyll Group psammite, semipelite and pelite would have provided variable drainage conditions across the site, influencing where stone for dyke construction could be readily gathered and how the features were positioned relative to ground conditions.
The survival of both dykes as distinct archaeological features demonstrates the durability of drystone construction techniques. Their presence on the Kingswells holding contributes to understanding the historical pattern of land division and pastoral management in north-east Scotland, where such structures remain integral to the farmed landscape.
Kingswells, consumption dykes 415m N and 685m NNE of Home Farm is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM108. View the official record →
Kingswells Consumption Dykes are a pair of agricultural features located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated 415 metres north and 685 metres north-north-east of Home Farm. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM108.
Kingswells, consumption dykes 415m N and 685m NNE of Home Farm 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 SM108.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Binghill House, stone circle & cairn 200m WSW of (4.5 km), Bieldside, cairn, Cults (4.7 km), Maryculter House, church & burial ground 65m NNE of (7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Kingswells, consumption dykes 415m N and 685m NNE of Home Farm'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.
Kingswells, consumption dykes 415m N and 685m NNE of Home Farm stands on Argyll Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite, semipelite and pelite.