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Lettershaws is a platform settlement located in Lanarkshire, Scotland, situated approximately 1000 metres north-east of the village. The site represents a domestic settlement constructed on artificially levelled ground, a building technique characteristic of upland settlements in medieval and early modern Scotland. Such platforms, cut into sloping terrain, provided level building surfaces in areas where natural ground was unsuitable for construction. This practical adaptation allowed settlement in marginal landscape.
The settlement sits upon bedrock of the Kirkcolm Formation, a wacke deposit laid down during the Caradocian period of the Ordovician era. This hard, abrasive sedimentary stone would have presented challenges to the original inhabitants when quarrying material for building or creating the level platform itself. The local geology thus directly shaped both the physical effort required to establish the settlement and the building materials available on site.
Lettershaws is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Scotland reference SM4332, ensuring the preservation of this landscape feature and its archaeological potential. The site contributes to understanding settlement patterns and domestic organisation in upland Lanarkshire during the period when such platform settlements were common.
Lettershaws,platform settlement 1000m NE of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4332. View the official record →
Lettershaws is a platform settlement located in Lanarkshire, Scotland, situated approximately 1000 metres north-east of the village. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4332.
Lettershaws,platform settlement 1000m NE 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 SM4332.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including North Shortcleuch,platform settlement 1000m E of (4.7 km), North Shortcleugh,platform settlement 1500m E of (5.1 km), Historic gold workings, Leadhills, South Lanarkshire (5.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Lettershaws,platform settlement 1000m NE 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.
Lettershaws,platform settlement 1000m NE of stands on Kirkcolm Formation, bedrock that formed in the Caradocian. The rock here is wacke.