Grampian - Prehistoric Sites
- Map of Prehistoric Sites in Grampian
- Map of ALL Prehistoric Sites in Scotland
- Map of all attractions in Grampian
Included in this category of our heritage guide to Grampian are Pictish carved stones and crosses - one of the most fascinating features of the Aberdeenshire and Moray region. Grampian is extraordinarily rich in 'ancient' sites, with numerous examples of cairns, burial mounds, and stone circles dotted about the landscape.
Why is the region so well-supplied with these ancient monuments? One simple answer is that Aberdeenshire and Moray were settled earlier and more densely than the Highland regions to the north and west. The sheer weight of numbers of ancient peoples resulted in much greater numbers of ancient sites that survive today.
Capo Long Barrow is a very sizeable barrow monument stretching 80 metres. The barrow is on an east/west axis, with the widest point at the east end, which is 28 metres across. The barrow rises to about 2.5 metres high.
Laurencekirk, Grampian, Scotland
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Castle Point Fort is a promontory fort on a steep-sided clifftop just west of Pennan harbour. The site was first enclosed by a palisade in the late prehistoric period. The palisade was then replaced by a wall made of stone and timber combined, with a complex gateway entrance.
Pennan, Grampian, Scotland
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Cleaved Head is a promontory fort located just east of Macduff. The defences consist of an earthen bank and ditch. In an odd juxtaposition of the old and new, the banks form an obstacle on the approach to the 13th green of Royal Tarlair Golf Course.
Macduff, Grampian, Scotland
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Cowiemuir Cairn may once have been associated with a stone circle (indeed, the site is marked on the OS map as a circle). The cairn is about 21 metres across and just over half a metre high. It may once have been more extensive but it seems to have suffered from stone-stealing over the centuries.
Portgordon, Grampian, Scotland
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The coastal promontory of Crathie Point, west of Sandsend, shows evidence of a raised bank and ditch, effectively creating a simple enclosure, defended from the landward approach. Outside the ditch are faint remnants of a palisade trench.
Sandend, Grampian, Scotland
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Though it is not widely recognised, I think Cullerlie Stone Circle is one of the most interesting ancient sites in Aberdeenshire. The stone circle is made up of 8 boulders, enclosing 8 later burial cairns. The stone circle came first and dates to the Bronze Age. The cairns were erected within the existing stone circle between 1800-1200 BCE.
Garlogie, Grampian, Scotland
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Just east of the village of Tarland in Aberdeenshire is Culsh Earth House. Despite the name, the 'earth house' is not a house meant for dwelling, but an underground storage area. In the south west of Britain these chambers are called souterrains. The site at Culsh was probably used in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.
Culsh, Tarland, Grampian, Scotland
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A collection of carved Pictish stones has been gathered inside the ruined church of St Fergus at Dyce, just outside Aberdeen airport. There are two Pictish stones, rather unimaginatively named Dyce I and Dyce II.
Dyce, Grampian, Scotland
Attraction Type: Prehistoric - Carved Stone
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Perhaps the perfect recumbent stone circle, East Aquhorthies is set on a terrace above farm fields, just outside Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. Recumbent stone circles are concentrated in the Grampian region. They are characterised by a large stone, laid on its side, at the southwestern side of the circle. This recumbent stone, perhaps dating to as early as 3000 BCE, is flanked by two large upright stones.
Inverurie, Grampian, Scotland
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When the pulpit of the ancient chapel of St Palladius in Fordoun was dismantled in 1787 an ancient carved cross was discovered hidden beneath it. It seems possible that it was placed there to protect it during the upheavals of the Scottish Reformation.
Auchenblae, Grampian, Scotland
Attraction Type: Prehistoric - Carved Stone
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