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Meikle Cairn is a cairn located at Upper Minnydow in Kirkcudbrightshire, south-west Scotland. The monument stands on bedrock of the Hawick Group, a wacke formation dating to the Wenlock period of the Silurian, which provides the grey stone characteristic of this region. Cairns of this type were typically constructed during the Bronze Age as burial monuments, often built as communal or individual tombs with stone rubble heaped over an internal chamber or cist.
The site occupies the rolling upland landscape typical of the Stewartry district, where such monuments dot the moorland. The Hawick Group wacke bedrock would have provided accessible stone for construction, though builders would have selected and transported material to create the cairn's distinctive form. The monument's survival to the present day reflects both the durable nature of its stone composition and its historical significance.
Meikle Cairn is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Scotland reference SM1036, recognising its importance as evidence of prehistoric burial practice and land use in Kirkcudbrightshire. The site remains a valuable archaeological resource for understanding early human settlement patterns in south-west Scotland.
Meikle Cairn,cairn,Upper Minnydow is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1036. View the official record →
Meikle Cairn is a cairn located at Upper Minnydow in Kirkcudbrightshire, south-west Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1036.
Meikle Cairn,cairn,Upper Minnydow 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 SM1036.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Doon Hill,Mote of Doon,Doon of Urr (3.3 km), Erncrogo Loch, fish ponds 400m S of Erncrogo (6.4 km), Redcastle, standing stone 275m ESE of Graham's Wood, Haugh of Urr (6.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Meikle Cairn,cairn,Upper Minnydow'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.
Meikle Cairn,cairn,Upper Minnydow stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.