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Waterhead is a platform settlement located 900 metres north of Waterhead in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The site sits upon bedrock of the Kirkcolm Formation, a wacke deposited during the Caradocian period of the Ordovician. This ancient geological foundation would have presented a firm base for settlement, though the exposed bedrock and upland terrain indicate a community adapted to marginal land.
Platform settlements of this type represent a distinctive form of prehistoric domestic occupation, typically comprising artificially levelled or naturally terraced ground where timber roundhouses once stood. Their distribution across upland areas of Scotland suggests specialised use of high ground for pastoral or seasonal activity, though yearround habitation cannot be ruled out. The construction of such platforms required considerable effort to create level living surfaces on sloping terrain.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM4714, recognising its significance for understanding prehistoric settlement patterns and land use in the Scottish uplands. The survival of structural platforms on this exposed Lanarkshire site contributes to the archaeological record of early communities exploiting and managing the landscape of central Scotland.
Waterhead,platform settlement 900m N of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4714. View the official record →
Waterhead is a platform settlement located 900 metres north of Waterhead in Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4714.
Waterhead,platform settlement 900m N 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 SM4714.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Lettershaws,platform settlement 1000m NE of (3 km), Glencaple,burnt mound 980m WNW of (3.3 km), Historic gold workings, Leadhills, South Lanarkshire (3.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Waterhead,platform settlement 900m N 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.
Waterhead,platform settlement 900m N of stands on Kirkcolm Formation, bedrock that formed in the Caradocian. The rock here is wacke.