Scheduled MonumentsScotlandWhite Cairn, chambered cairn 630m W of Glentrool School
Neolithic · Chambered cairn 630m w of glentrool school

White Cairn, chambered cairn 630m W of Glentrool School

Scotland
HES SM1049
Period
Neolithic
Site type
Chambered cairn 630m w of glentrool school
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland

Overview

History & significance

White Cairn is a Neolithic chambered cairn located 630 metres west of Glentrool School in Kirkcudbrightshire, south-west Scotland. The monument is protected as a Scheduled Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1049. It represents the funerary architecture of the Neolithic period, when communal burial structures served both practical and ceremonial functions for early farming communities.

The cairn sits upon bedrock of the Kirkcolm Formation, a hard wacke that was formed during the Caradocian period of the Ordovician geological era. This durable stone would have been available locally for the construction of the monument's internal structural elements and outer casing. The surrounding landscape of Kirkcudbrightshire, with its moorland and lochs, provided the setting for this ancient burial structure.

Chambered cairns like White Cairn typically date to the fourth and third millennia before the present and represent some of Scotland's earliest monumental architecture. Their characteristic internal chambers, generally built from stone orthostats and roofed with large capstones, allowed repeated access for successive burials, distinguishing them from later single-burial monuments. White Cairn remains an important example of Neolithic funerary practice in south-west Scotland.

White Cairn, chambered cairn 630m W of Glentrool School is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1049. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is White Cairn, chambered cairn 630m W of Glentrool School?

White Cairn is a Neolithic chambered cairn located 630 metres west of Glentrool School in Kirkcudbrightshire, south-west Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1049.

What period does White Cairn, chambered cairn 630m W of Glentrool School date from?

White Cairn, chambered cairn 630m W of Glentrool School dates from the neolithic period, and is classified as a chambered cairn 630m w of glentrool school. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting White Cairn, chambered cairn 630m W of Glentrool School?

White Cairn, chambered cairn 630m W of Glentrool School 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 SM1049.

What other scheduled monuments are near White Cairn, chambered cairn 630m W of Glentrool School?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including White Cairn,cairn 910m NNE of Bargrennan Cottage (1.3 km), Middle Bridge of Cree,cairn 110m WNW of (2 km), Minnoch,Old Bridge of (3.2 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about White Cairn, chambered cairn 630m W of Glentrool School

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of White Cairn, chambered cairn 630m W of Glentrool School's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under White Cairn, chambered cairn 630m W of Glentrool School

White Cairn, chambered cairn 630m W of Glentrool School stands on Kirkcolm Formation, bedrock that formed in the Caradocian. The rock here is wacke.