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Loirston Country Park, cairn and dyke is a prehistoric monument located in Kincardineshire, north-east Scotland, protected by Historic Environment Scotland. The site comprises a stone cairn and associated linear dyke situated 220 metres north-east of Cat Cairn, another contemporary monument in the landscape. The monuments occupy ground underlain by Neoproterozoic bedrock of the Argyll Group, comprising psammite, semipelite and pelite rocks that would have provided suitable material for construction.
The cairn represents a substantial communal or ritual structure typical of the Bronze Age, whilst the associated dyke may have served territorial, defensive or ceremonial purposes. The proximity of Cat Cairn suggests this was an area of concentrated prehistoric activity, with multiple monuments clustering within the local topography. Such groupings are characteristic of later prehistoric settlement patterns in north-east Scotland.
The survival of both cairn and dyke as visible landscape features demonstrates the enduring quality of stone construction. The designation by Historic Environment Scotland reflects the monuments' archaeological significance and their importance to understanding prehistoric settlement and land use in the Mearns district of Kincardineshire. The site remains accessible within Loirston Country Park.
Loirston Country Park, cairn and dyke 220m NE of Cat Cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM12342. View the official record →
Loirston Country Park, cairn and dyke is a prehistoric monument located in Kincardineshire, north-east Scotland, protected by Historic Environment Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM12342.
Loirston Country Park, cairn and dyke 220m NE of Cat Cairn 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 SM12342.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cat Cairn, cairn (0.2 km), Baron's Cairn, cairn (0.6 km), Tullos Cairn, cairn (1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Loirston Country Park, cairn and dyke 220m NE of Cat Cairn'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.
Loirston Country Park, cairn and dyke 220m NE of Cat Cairn stands on Argyll Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite, semipelite and pelite.