Scheduled Monument
Burgh Hill, stone circleSM3354
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
- 31/12/1973
- Last Date Amended
- 17/11/2025
- Type
- Prehistoric ritual and funerary: stone circle or ring
- Local Authority
- Scottish Borders
- Planning Authority
- Scottish Borders
- Parish
- Teviothead
- NGR
- NT 47011 06244
- Coordinates
- 347011, 606244
Description
The monument is the remains of a stone circle, probably dating to the Bronze Age (2500 BC – 800 BC). Formed of up to 26 stones, it is roughly oval in plan and measures 16.5m from northeast to southwest by 13.7m. The monument lies on a natural terrace near the summit of Burgh Hill, at about 300m above sea level.
Some 23 stones of the circle are roughly in their original location; the remaining stones are displaced. Only 13 stones remain upright. The tallest stone measures 1.25m in height and lies fallen and displaced on the southwest of the circle. It may have been positioned opposite a smaller but distinctive stone on the northeast of the circle. This stone measures 0.4m in height, 1.2m in width and 0.3m in thickness.
The scheduled area is circular, measuring 45m in diameter, centred on the monument. It includes the remains described above and an area around within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.
Statement of National Importance
The monument is of national importance because it makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the past as a stone circle of Bronze Age date. It has the potential to add to our understanding of the nature of ritual and ceremonial practices in southern Scotland and more widely, and their significance in Bronze Age society and economy. Information from excavations elsewhere indicate there is significant potential for the survival of buried archaeological deposits within, beneath and around the site. Study of the form and construction techniques of the stone circle has the potential to increase our understanding of this monument and similar monuments elsewhere. The monument can add to our understanding of the character, development and use of ceremonial and ritual sites, and the placing of ceremonial monuments in the landscape.
References
Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation
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.
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