© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland
Kippilaw House to Cauldshiels Hill is a linear earthwork in Roxburghshire, Scottish Borders, protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland. The monument extends across rolling terrain underlain by Hawick Group wacke, a hard sedimentary rock formed during the Wenlock period of the Silurian era. This durable bedrock would have presented significant challenges to those who constructed the earthwork, requiring considerable labour investment to cut or pile material across the landscape.
Linear earthworks of this type in the Scottish Borders typically served defensive, territorial or boundary functions during prehistoric or early historic periods. The specific topography between Kippilaw House and Cauldshiels Hill—the monument's two reference points—would have determined the route's practical effectiveness, whether controlling movement through the valley or establishing visual demarcation across the upland landscape.
The earthwork survives as a recorded archaeological feature of regional importance, reflecting past patterns of settlement, land use and social organisation in the Borders. Its preservation as a scheduled monument acknowledges both its archaeological significance and its contribution to understanding the region's complex landscape history.
Linear earthwork, Kippilaw House to Cauldshiels Hill is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2291. View the official record →
Kippilaw House to Cauldshiels Hill is a linear earthwork in Roxburghshire, Scottish Borders, protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2291.
Linear earthwork, Kippilaw House to Cauldshiels Hill 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 SM2291.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Eildon Hill North,fort & Roman signal station (4 km), Huntly Burn,earthworks (4.1 km), Cauldshiels Hill,fort (4.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Linear earthwork, Kippilaw House to Cauldshiels Hill'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.
Linear earthwork, Kippilaw House to Cauldshiels Hill stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.