High Law preserves a substantial prehistoric funerary landmark whose early excavation history is documented but whose original date and form remain uncertain.
Quick facts
- Date
- Prehistoric; excavated before and again by 1862
- Architect / designer
- Prehistoric community unknown
- Type
- Scheduled funerary cairn of uncertain type
- Designation
- Scheduled monument (SM3258)
- OS grid reference
- NK 06229 33933
Architecture, archaeology and continuing use
The national schedule identifies a cairn at the mapped summit location but does not provide a modern measured description. Nineteenth-century reporting records a stone mound and a cist that appeared to have been opened earlier.
Its story
People constructed the monument in prehistory for ritual or funerary purposes. A published account in 1862 described excavation by Major-General Moore and Alexander Murray, who concluded that earlier disturbance had already affected the cairn and cist.
Why it is included
Scheduling recognises the monument as nationally important prehistoric ritual and funerary archaeology; its elevated position and documented antiquarian investigation add value while requiring careful uncertainty.
What to notice
- The mound’s overall profile from a lawful distance.
- Its relationship to the surrounding cultivated landscape.
- Any exposed stone observed without moving or touching it.
Reading the surroundings
Do not cross crops, fences or working farm ground without lawful access. Avoid livestock, leave gates as found and never dig, climb or remove stone from the scheduled monument.
Timeline
- Prehistoric period A community created a funerary or ceremonial mound on High Law.
- Before 1862 An earlier opening had apparently disturbed the cairn and central cist.
- 1862 The Society of Antiquaries published a formal account of the excavation.
- 1972 National scheduling gave the site statutory protection.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The schedule does not assign a precise prehistoric date or cairn subtype, and modern condition and access were not verified on the ground.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: High Law Cairn, SM3258 — Designation status, official mapped location, date, fabric and architectural or archaeological interest.
- Trove designation: SM3258 — Parallel national record identity and archival context.
- Society of Antiquaries of Scotland: 1862 High Law excavation paper — Primary published account of the nineteenth-century excavation and its interpretation.
Location
OS grid reference NK 06229 33933 · 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.
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