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West Davoch is a cairn located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately 490 metres west-north-west of a reference point now lost to record. The monument stands on bedrock formed during the Silurian period, where an unnamed mafic igneous intrusion has created a foundation of darker, mineral-rich stone. This geological setting is characteristic of much of upland Aberdeenshire, where such intrusions pierce through older Ordovician sequences.
Cairns of this type typically date to the Bronze Age, when communities constructed these stone monuments for burial and ceremonial purposes. The mound would have been built up layer by layer from local stone gathered across the surrounding landscape, creating a durable marker that would have been visible across considerable distances. The choice of this particular location, on igneous bedrock in open country, reflects patterns of burial practice common across prehistoric Scotland.
The cairn is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Scotland's designation SM11628. This statutory protection recognises its archaeological significance and ensures the site remains available for future study. Though the monument's exact dimensions and current condition are not documented in available records, it forms part of the broader archaeological heritage of the Aberdeenshire uplands, where such cairns cluster in groups that reflect ancient patterns of land use and settlement.
West Davoch, cairn 490m WNW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11628. View the official record →
West Davoch is a cairn located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately 490 metres west-north-west of a reference point now lost to record.
West Davoch, cairn 490m WNW 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 SM11628.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Leys, homestead 400m NW of (4.1 km), Knockargety Wood, unfinished hillfort 200m to 370m N of Upper Ruthven (4.2 km), Ferny Howe, cairn 200m ESE of (4.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of West Davoch, cairn 490m WNW 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 Davoch, cairn 490m WNW of stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Ordovician To Silurian, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is mafic igneous-rock.