© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland
Nipster is a Bronze Age henge located in Caithness in the far north of Scotland, situated some 250 metres north-northwest of the settlement that shares its name. The monument stands on bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone, a Devonian conglomerate mixed with sandstone, siltstone and mudstone that characterises much of the northern Highlands. This geological foundation, laid down over 380 million years ago in ancient lacustrine environments, would have influenced both the construction and the drainage of the henge.
Henges of the Bronze Age typically served ceremonial and communal functions, though their exact purposes remain subject to scholarly debate. At Nipster, as at comparable monuments across northern Britain, the henge form—comprising an outer bank and inner ditch—would have created a defined ritual space within the surrounding landscape. The site's location in Caithness places it within a region where Bronze Age communities maintained distinct cultural practices, evidenced by the broader archaeological record of the far north.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the statutory reference SM7039, recognising its archaeological significance. The Caithness landscape, with its exposed moorland and variable topography, has preserved Nipster as a tangible record of Bronze Age ceremonial practice in one of Scotland's most northerly regions.
Nipster, henge 250m NNW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM7039. View the official record →
Nipster is a Bronze Age henge located in Caithness in the far north of Scotland, situated some 250 metres north-northwest of the settlement that shares its name. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM7039.
Nipster, henge 250m NNW of dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a henge. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Nipster, henge 250m NNW 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 SM7039.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Green Hill Broch, 40m W of Grant Hall (4.2 km), Gallow Hillock, cairn on Backlass Hill (5 km), Nether Banks, broch 220m NNE of (5.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Nipster, henge 250m NNW 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.
Nipster, henge 250m NNW of stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.