Description

The monument comprises a standing stone which originally stood on the crest of slightly rising ground. Its modern setting is within an area paved with granite setts, adjacent to Standing Stone Walk in the Pitcorthie estate, Dunfermline. The monument was first scheduled in 1939 but an inadequate area was included to protect all of the remains: the present scheduling rectifies this. Standing stones such as this generally date to between 2500 and 1500 BC.

The monument is a massive angular sandstone block and stands about 1.6m high (from the current ground level). Its maximum width is 1.6m N-S by 1.1m W-E maximum.

The original setting, and any stone packing around the base, has been obscured by the modern setting of the stone. In 1972 the stone was set in a pavement of granite setts to form a feature in a green space within what was then a new housing estate.

The area to be scheduled is a circle 10m in diameter, to include the stone and an area around it in which evidence relating to its construction and use may survive, as marked in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling includes the pavement of granite setts around the stone, as this cannot be maintained or removed without potential damage to the stone and any associated deposits. The scheduling excludes the surface of Standing Stone Walk to allow for its routine maintenance.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a well-preserved and massive standing stone, which retains the potential to enhance our understanding of prehistoric ritual practices. Although its setting has been compromised, the area around the stone has escaped the deep ploughing inherent in modern farming techniques, which often affects ancient monuments in the countryside. This means that the area around the Easter Pitcorthie stone has the potential, unusually in lowland Scotland, to preserve the remains of burials or other associated evidence.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS 1933 Inventory of the Monuments of Fife etc. No. 208, 127.

The monument is recorded by RCAHMS as NT 18 NW 4.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland