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Wester Yardhouses is a hut-circles and cairns site located in Lanarkshire, Scotland, positioned approximately 270 metres south-south-west of its designated reference point. The monument comprises the earthwork remains of domestic occupation and burial structures characteristic of later prehistoric or early historic settlement in the Southern Uplands. The site sits on bedrock of the Inverclyde Group, a geological formation of sandstone, siltstone and mudstone laid down during the Osagean period, which would have provided both building materials and working ground for the inhabitants of this upland location.
The hut-circles represent the foundations or walls of prehistoric roundhouses, while the associated cairns may relate to burial practices or field clearance typical of pre-Roman Iron Age or Romano-British settlement patterns in this region. The combination of domestic and funerary monuments suggests a coherent settlement unit, possibly occupied over several generations. The Inverclyde bedrock, though not ideal for large-scale arable farming, would have supported pastoral economies and provided stone suitable for construction and tool manufacture.
The site is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Scotland reference SM11236, reflecting its archaeological importance as evidence for settlement patterns and land use in upland Lanarkshire during the prehistoric period. The monument's survival as earthwork remains makes it a valuable resource for understanding how communities adapted to and exploited the Scottish upland landscape.
Wester Yardhouses, hut-circles and cairns 270m SSW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11236. View the official record →
Wester Yardhouses is a hut-circles and cairns site located in Lanarkshire, Scotland, positioned approximately 270 metres south-south-west of its designated reference point.
Wester Yardhouses, hut-circles and cairns 270m SSW 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 SM11236.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Windygates, hut-circle 385m NNW of (1.8 km), Kersewell Mains,cairn 1400m E of (2.8 km), Greenaton Farm, enclosed settlement 250m WNW of (3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Wester Yardhouses, hut-circles and cairns 270m SSW 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.
Wester Yardhouses, hut-circles and cairns 270m SSW of stands on Inverclyde Group, bedrock that formed in the Osagean. The rock here is sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.