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Muiredge Cairn is a prehistoric burial monument located in Renfrewshire, Scotland, situated approximately 1050 metres west of Muiredge. The cairn represents a form of funerary architecture common in Bronze Age Britain, where stones were heaped over cremated human remains or inhumations to create a durable memorial. The monument is constructed on bedrock composed of Dinantian extrusive rocks—mafic lavas and tuffs formed during the Mississippian period—which underlie much of this region and would have provided the building material used by its constructors.
The precise date of the cairn's construction cannot be determined without excavation, though such monuments across Scotland were typically built during the Bronze Age, spanning roughly 2200 to 800 BCE. The monument's location on exposed high ground in Renfrewshire, typical of contemporary funerary siting practices, suggests it once served as a prominent landscape marker for the local community.
Muiredge Cairn is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM12854, recognising its archaeological significance and ensuring its preservation for future study. The monument remains an important record of Bronze Age burial practices and land use in Renfrewshire.
Muiredge, cairn 1050m W of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM12854. View the official record →
Muiredge Cairn is a prehistoric burial monument located in Renfrewshire, Scotland, situated approximately 1050 metres west of Muiredge. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM12854.
Muiredge, cairn 1050m W of 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 SM12854.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Dowries, cairn 495m SW of (1.6 km), Garvock, cairn 780m ENE of (1.7 km), Garvock, farmstead 825m SE of (1.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Muiredge, cairn 1050m W of'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.
Muiredge, cairn 1050m W of stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Dinantian, bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.