Scheduled Monument

Lyneholm,settlement 500m WSW and homestead 250m SW ofSM4691

Status: Designated

Documents

Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).

The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.

Summary

Date Added
31/05/1989
Supplementary Information Updated
14/02/2020
Type
Prehistoric domestic and defensive: homestead; settlement (if not assigned to any more specific type)
Local Authority
Dumfries And Galloway
Parish
Westerkirk
NGR
NY 27320 91492
Coordinates
327320, 591492

Description

The monuments are a homestead and a defended settlement, both of the Iron Age. The homestead lies on the E flank of Lyneholm Hill. It measures 26.5m (N-S) by 25m transversely within a stony bank spread up to 2.2m in thickness and 0.3m in height. The interior has been scooped into the slope on S and W, and contains a possible house platform measuring c. 9.5m in diameter. The site is crossed from N to S by a dry-stone dyke.

Some 300m to the W lies the defended settlement known as the White Birren, occupying part of the summit of Lyneholm Hill. It measures c. 54m by 39m within a stone-faced bank 3m thick, accompanied on the SW by an external ditch. On the S of the interior is a circular house-platform. An area measuring 50m in diameter centred on the homestead is proposed for scheduling around the homestead. An area 80m in diameter is proposed for scheduling around the defended settlement, centred on the settlement.

Statement of National Importance

The two monuments represent separate elements of Iron Age settlement. Both have well preserved field characteristics, in that, house stances survive within them. They are, individually, of national importance to the theme of Iron Age settlement. Taken together, and with the larger forts and settlements nearby at Bankburnfoot, Bailiehill and Bogle Walls, they are of national importance to the theme of the development and organisation of the Iron Age landscape.

References

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monuments as NY 29 SE 12 and 34.

About Scheduled Monuments

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).

The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.

Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.

Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

Images

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Printed: 17/08/2026 19:15