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West Cairngaan is a Bronze Age standing stone located in Wigtownshire, south-west Scotland. The monument stands on bedrock of the Hawick Group, a hard sedimentary wacke formation laid down during the Wenlock period of the Silurian era. This underlying geology of compact, fine-grained stone would have been familiar to the Bronze Age communities who inhabited this landscape over three thousand years ago.
The stone remains protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Scotland's reference SM4800, reflecting its significance within the archaeological heritage of Wigtownshire. Standing stones of this period typically marked territorial boundaries, gathering places, or sites of ceremonial importance. Their construction and positioning within the Bronze Age landscape demonstrates the sophistication of social organisation and the spiritual beliefs of these early farming societies.
The monument survives as one of several Bronze Age ritual and funerary monuments distributed across south-west Scotland. Its preservation allows modern study of Bronze Age settlement patterns and land use, while its local prominence on the Hawick Group bedrock would have made it a recognisable landmark in the ancient landscape. West Cairngaan contributes to our understanding of how Bronze Age communities related to and shaped their physical environment.
West Cairngaan,standing stone 860m SE of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4800. View the official record →
West Cairngaan is a Bronze Age standing stone located in Wigtownshire, south-west Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4800.
West Cairngaan,standing stone 860m SE of dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a standing stone. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
West Cairngaan,standing stone 860m SE 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 SM4800.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Two forts on Carrickcamrie and Dunorroch (0.4 km), Mull Glen,fort,West Tarbet (0.5 km), Mull Farm,St Medan's Chapel & cave 550m SE of (1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of West Cairngaan,standing stone 860m SE 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.
West Cairngaan,standing stone 860m SE of stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.