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Rait souterrains is a pair of Iron Age underground stone-built passages located in Perthshire, Scotland, approximately 130 metres south of Rait. The passages are characteristic of structures built during the later prehistoric period in eastern Scotland, likely serving domestic, storage or defensive purposes for Iron Age communities. The two souterrains are constructed from locally-sourced stone worked from the Stratheden Group bedrock beneath the site, a formation of interbedded sandstone and conglomerate dating to the Late Devonian period, which provided ready-worked materials for construction.
The monument is situated within an archaeological landscape that includes a ring-ditch earthwork located some 170 metres south of the souterrains. This combination of subterranean and surface features suggests a settled Iron Age settlement with multiple elements serving different functions. The geology of the area, with its variable bands of sandstone and conglomerate, would have offered practical advantages for underground construction, allowing builders to exploit natural stone fracture planes whilst avoiding looser conglomerate deposits.
The souterrains and ring-ditch at Rait are protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM7201, ensuring their preservation as important evidence of Iron Age settlement patterns and building practice in eastern Scotland.
Rait, souterrains 130m & ring-ditch 170m S of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM7201. View the official record →
Rait souterrains is a pair of Iron Age underground stone-built passages located in Perthshire, Scotland, approximately 130 metres south of Rait. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM7201.
Rait, souterrains 130m & ring-ditch 170m S of dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a souterrains 130m & ring-ditch. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Rait, souterrains 130m & ring-ditch 170m S 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 SM7201.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Prehistoric settlement, 575m SSW of Clashbenny (6.2 km), Inchyra Farm, unenclosed settlement 500m NE of (6.8 km), Ballinbreich Castle (7.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Rait, souterrains 130m & ring-ditch 170m S 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.
Rait, souterrains 130m & ring-ditch 170m S of stands on Stratheden Group, bedrock that formed in the Late Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.