Description

The monument is a standing stone dating probably to the late Neolithic or Bronze Age (late third or second millennium BC). The stone stands immediately to the SE of a disused burial ground. It stands on relatively level ground around 50m above sea level and about 280m N of the Niddrie Burn.

The stone stands to a height of 1.1m above the present ground surface, though in 1921 it was recorded as standing to 1.5m in height. It measures 1.1m N-S by 0.6m transversely. Five circular indentations low down on the E face may be cupmarks of human origin. A deeper hole on the S face may relate to reported use of the stone in 1921 as an entrance pier to the adjacent burial ground. There are natural fissures on the S and W faces of the stone.

The scheduled area is circular on plan, measuring 3m in diameter, centred on the stone. The scheduling includes the standing stone and an area around it within which evidence relating to the monument's erection and use is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the top 20cm of a path to the SE of the stone. Railings associated with the burial ground lie beyond the scheduled area to the NW. Also excluded are all modern buried utility services and the soil that overlies them within their existing trenches.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

This monument is of national importance because it can make a significant addition to our understanding of the past, particularly the erection and use of standing stones. It can enhance our understanding of ritual and ceremonial activities in prehistory, the beliefs of the people who erected standing stones and the activities carried out in their vicinity. The stone may stand in its original location and is likely to have been a focal point from the time of its erection and use onwards, giving potential for understanding its original landscape context. It now represents a very rare survival of a prehistoric monument in an urban location where visible remains from prehistory are generally absent. The standing stone also has the potential to inform us about the value attributed to such monuments in later times, for example, it may be significant that a much later burial ground was sited adjacent to the stone. The loss of this monument would diminish our ability to understand the nature of prehistoric belief and ritual in and around Edinburgh and the placing and function of standing stones within the landscape.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

References

RCAHMS records the monument as NT27SE 199

RCAHMS, 1929 The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. Tenth Report with Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in the Counties of Midlothian and West Lothian, Edinburgh, 134, No 164.

Canmore

https://canmore.org.uk/site/52221/

Source: Historic Environment Scotland