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Windywa's Silvermine is a silvermine located 300 metres south-west of Wester Tartraven in Linlithgowshire, Scotland. The mine exploits mineralisation within Dinantian extrusive rocks of Mississippian age, comprising mafic lava and mafic tuff formations that underlie the site. These volcanic bedrock conditions would have hosted the silver deposits that drew mining activity to this remote rural location.
Scottish silver mining flourished intermittently from the medieval period onwards, though extraction remained challenging and sporadic. The geology at Windywa's favoured the concentration of valuable ore within the fractured volcanic strata, making the site worthy of exploitation despite its moorland setting. The presence of such deposits in Linlithgowshire reflects the broader pattern of mineral prospecting across central Scotland.
The silvermine is now protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11226. This statutory protection recognises the site's archaeological and historical significance as a record of past industrial activity and Scotland's mining heritage. The earthworks, shafts and spoil heaps associated with the workings remain visible on the landscape, marking centuries of effort to extract precious metal from the Mississippian volcanic rocks beneath.
Windywa's Silvermine, silvermine 300m SW of Wester Tartraven is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11226. View the official record →
Windywa's Silvermine is a silvermine located 300 metres south-west of Wester Tartraven in Linlithgowshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11226.
Windywa's Silvermine, silvermine 300m SW of Wester Tartraven 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 SM11226.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cairnpapple Hill, prehistoric ceremonial complex (0.3 km), Raven Craig, cairn (1 km), Hilltop House, coal pit 250m NNW of (1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Windywa's Silvermine, silvermine 300m SW of Wester Tartraven'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.
Windywa's Silvermine, silvermine 300m SW of Wester Tartraven stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Dinantian, bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.