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Shank End is a scooped settlement situated in Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders. The monument represents a form of rural dwelling typical of medieval and post-medieval upland communities, where habitation platforms were created by cutting into sloping ground to provide level building surfaces. This method of settlement construction was economical and effective in managing water drainage on hillsides across lowland Scotland.
The settlement sits upon bedrock formed from Silurian to Devonian extrusive rocks, specifically mafic lava and mafic tuff deposited during the Devonian period. This volcanic geology is characteristic of the Southern Uplands terrain and would have influenced both the physical properties of the surrounding land and the availability of building materials to the settlement's inhabitants.
The site is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Scotland's listing SM10748, reflecting its archaeological significance as evidence of past settlement patterns in the Borders landscape. Scooped settlements such as Shank End remain important sources of information about rural life, land use and adaptation to topography in early modern Scotland, particularly in areas where alternative building methods would have been less practical or sustainable.
Shank End, scooped settlement is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM10748. View the official record →
Shank End is a scooped settlement situated in Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM10748.
Shank End, scooped settlement 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 SM10748.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Hindhope Hill,fort (4.5 km), Loddan, palisaded settlement 350m NW of summit (4.6 km), Loddan, fort (4.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Shank End, scooped settlement'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.
Shank End, scooped settlement stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Silurian To Devonian, bedrock that formed in the Devonian. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.