Raven Craig Cairn Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland, UK

Scheduled Monument Statement of Significance

© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.

The monument is of national importance because of its potential to add to our understanding of Bronze Age burial and ritual practice. Its importance is enhanced by its proximity to the major prehistoric ceremonial complex at Cairnpapple.

Scheduled Monument Description

© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.

The monument comprises a burial cairn of Bronze Age date surviving as a grassed-over stony mound.

The monument occupies the summit of Raven Craig, a rocky hillock, at around 290m OD, some 1200m SSW of the major prehistoric ceremonial complex of Cairnpapple. It comprises a substantial cairn some 9m in diameter by around 1.5m high. The cairn is defined by a series of large boulders, of which six remain in situ on the NW and SW, while others appear slightly displaced.

Despite some evidence of recent disturbance to the centre of the mound evidence of Bronze Age burials is likely to be present within, under and around the cairn.

The area to be scheduled encompasses the cairn and an area around it in which associated archaeological deposits may be expected to survive. It is circular with a diameter of 45m as marked in red on the accompanying map extract.