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Loanhead stone circle is a Bronze Age ritual monument located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, comprising a stone circle with an associated enclosed cremation cemetery. The site dates to the Bronze Age and represents an important example of ritual practice during this period, combining both funerary and ceremonial functions within a single bounded location. The monument consists of a circle of standing stones with evidence of cremated remains deposited within the enclosed area, indicating its use as a focal point for burial and commemorative practices. Such combined stone circle and cremation cemetery sites are significant for understanding Bronze Age religious beliefs and community gathering practices in prehistoric Scotland.
Loanhead, stone circle and enclosed cremation cemetery is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM90202. View the official record →
Loanhead stone circle is a Bronze Age ritual monument located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, comprising a stone circle with an associated enclosed cremation cemetery. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM90202.
Loanhead, stone circle and enclosed cremation cemetery dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a stone circle and enclosed cremation cemetery. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Loanhead, stone circle and enclosed cremation cemetery 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 SM90202.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including East Aquhorthies, stone circle (8.2 km), Conyng Hillock, mound E of Parkview, Inverurie (8.3 km), St Apolinaris' Chapel and burial ground (8.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Loanhead, stone circle and enclosed cremation cemetery'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.
Loanhead, stone circle and enclosed cremation cemetery stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Ordovician To Silurian, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is mafic igneous-rock.