Cropmarks reveal a cluster of timber roundhouses, pits and a possible enclosure beneath cultivated ground south of Tayport.
Quick facts
- Date
- Prehistoric, probably later Bronze Age or Iron Age; scheduled 1997
- Architect / designer
- Prehistoric farming communities
- Type
- Scheduled unenclosed settlement visible as cropmarks
- Designation
- Scheduled monument (SM7102)
- OS grid reference
- NO 45139 27598
Architecture, archaeology and continuing use
Aerial photographs show disc-shaped marks about five to ten metres across, with associated pits and two further house traces. A nearly square enclosure adds another element to the buried settlement plan.
Its story
Prehistoric households built timber roundhouses and organised activity in an unenclosed farming settlement. The structures disappeared above ground, but differential crop growth revealed their ditches, post settings and pits from the air.
Why it is included
Scheduling protects buried evidence with potential to explain domestic architecture, settlement organisation, farming and economy, enhanced by the presence of other possibly contemporary sites nearby.
What to notice
- Circular crop responses marking former roundhouses.
- Clusters of pits around domestic structures.
- Square enclosure visible only under suitable crop conditions.
Reading the surroundings
Do not enter cultivated fields, disturb crops, dig or metal detect. Use only lawful public routes, obey farm and livestock signs, and remember that little or nothing may be visible at ground level.
Timeline
- Later prehistory Farming households constructed timber roundhouses on the low coastal hinterland.
- Modern agriculture Cultivation levelled surface remains while preserving archaeological traces below.
- Aerial-survey era Oblique photography revealed the settlement through patterns in crop growth.
- 1997 Scheduling protected the houses, pits and surrounding archaeological deposits.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
No excavation date is available, so the settlement’s exact period and sequence remain unresolved; visibility varies with crop and weather conditions.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Burnside Prehistoric Settlement, SM7102 — Current designation status, mapped location, date, fabric and architectural or archaeological interest.
- Trove designation: SM7102 — Parallel national record identity and archival context.
Location
OS grid reference NO 45139 27598 · Location confidence: High: the current national designation supplies an exact mapped National Grid Reference; the public text separately states access and any current-use uncertainty. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
Suggest a marker correction
Suggest a more accurate position
The teal marker is the current published position. The orange marker starts slightly to its right so both remain visible; this is only a visual starting position. Tap the correct place on the map or drag the orange marker. Sending this form creates a private review entry only; it does not move the published marker.
Check this area in Google Maps Choose the Satellite layer there if useful.
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors. You can also enter checked coordinates below.