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Little Balsmith is a Bronze Age standing stone located in Wigtownshire, south-west Scotland. It stands on bedrock of the Hawick Group, a formation of wacke laid down during the Wenlock period of the Silurian era, which gives the surrounding landscape its characteristic hard, grey stone. The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the statutory listing SM1941.
Standing stones of this type were commonly erected across Scotland during the Bronze Age, typically serving ritual, territorial or commemorative functions within their communities. The stone's position within Wigtownshire places it within a wider landscape of prehistoric activity in this region of south-west Scotland, where Bronze Age peoples exploited the local geology and pastoral resources.
Today, Little Balsmith remains a significant testimony to Bronze Age monument-building traditions in Scotland. Its survival on this exposed, rocky terrain reflects the durability of both the Hawick Group bedrock beneath it and the stone chosen for the monument itself. The site contributes to our understanding of how prehistoric communities marked and used the south-west Scottish landscape during the Bronze Age.
Little Balsmith,standing stone is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1941. View the official record →
Little Balsmith is a Bronze Age standing stone located in Wigtownshire, south-west Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1941.
Little Balsmith,standing stone dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a standing stone. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Little Balsmith,standing stone 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 SM1941.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Dinnans,two forts (1.3 km), Whithorn Priory, monastic settlement and priory (2.3 km), Cairnhead,fort (2.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Little Balsmith,standing stone'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.
Little Balsmith,standing stone stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.