Scheduled MonumentsScotlandPiper's Grave,cists
Bronze Age · Cists

Piper's Grave,cists

Scotland
HES SM2128
Period
Bronze Age
Site type
Cists
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland

Overview

History & significance

Piper's Grave is a Bronze Age cist cemetery located in Roxburghshire, Scotland. Cists of this period typically consisted of stone-built burial chambers, constructed from flat slabs of stone arranged to form a small rectangular box to contain inhumated remains, often accompanied by grave goods such as pottery and metalwork. The site sits upon bedrock of the Inverclyde Group, a geological formation of sandstone, siltstone and mudstone laid down during the Osagean period, which would have provided accessible stone for cist construction.

The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM2128, reflecting its archaeological significance as evidence of Bronze Age burial practice and settlement patterns in the Scottish Borders. The local geology of the site determined both its suitability for stone-built burial construction and the character of the landscape in which these people chose to inter their dead.

Such cemeteries represent important focal points in the Bronze Age landscape, often reused and added to over generations, suggesting continuity of place attachment and territorial identity amongst early Bronze Age communities in south-eastern Scotland.

Piper's Grave,cists is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2128. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Piper's Grave,cists?

Piper's Grave is a Bronze Age cist cemetery located in Roxburghshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2128.

What period does Piper's Grave,cists date from?

Piper's Grave,cists dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a cists. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Piper's Grave,cists?

Piper's Grave,cists 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 SM2128.

What other scheduled monuments are near Piper's Grave,cists?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Whitmuirhaugh,settlement & cemetery (3.1 km), Old Roxburgh,deserted town between River Teviot & River Tweed (3.7 km), Kelso Abbey (3.7 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Piper's Grave,cists

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Piper's Grave,cists's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Piper's Grave,cists

Piper's Grave,cists stands on Inverclyde Group, bedrock that formed in the Osagean. The rock here is sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.