Two broad turf-covered rings preserve rare lowland evidence for neighbouring prehistoric houses close to the River Dee.
Quick facts
- Date
- Later prehistoric period, approximately 2,500 years ago
- Architect / designer
- Prehistoric community unknown
- Type
- Pair of turf-covered roundhouse sites
- Designation
- Scheduled monument (SM6080)
- OS grid reference
- NO 53292 97980
Architecture, archaeology and continuing use
Low banks define two substantial circles, one around seventeen metres across and the other about sixteen metres. A gap in the eastern ring may mark an entrance facing west.
Its story
Communities living roughly 2,500 years ago constructed the two houses on ground that later escaped intensive cultivation. Their survival contrasts with the widespread loss of lowland roundhouses.
Why it is included
Scheduling recognises an unusually well-preserved pair of prehistoric dwellings whose associated buried deposits can improve understanding of domestic life and settlement organisation in Deeside.
What to notice
- Low turf banks rather than exposed walls.
- The pairing of two similarly sized house rings.
- A possible entrance gap in the eastern circle.
Reading the surroundings
Do not cross private land without permission. Avoid livestock, wet ground and low banks, and never remove turf, probe deposits or create desire lines across the monument.
Timeline
- Around 500 BC Two large roundhouses formed a small settlement beside the Dee landscape.
- Later centuries Limited cultivation allowed their turf-covered banks to remain legible.
- 1994 Scheduling protected both houses and their surrounding archaeological deposits.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The houses may not be exactly contemporary, and only investigation could refine their dates, entrances and occupation sequence.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Waterside Hut Circles, SM6080 — Current designation status, mapped location, date, fabric and architectural or archaeological interest.
- Trove designation: SM6080 — Parallel national record identity and archival context.
Location
OS grid reference NO 53292 97980 · 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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