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Ancient monument

Cairnpapple Hill

Near Linlithgow, West Lothian

A sacred hilltop used for 2,000 years, where you can climb into the cairn.

Cairnpapple Hill was a ceremonial site for around 2,000 years. Neolithic farmers made offerings here, then built a henge with a ring of stones.

Read the full story, see it on the map, get directions and find what else is nearby in the free Hidden Britain Atlas map.

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When
c. 3500–1500 BC
Where
55.9170, -3.6180
Group
Circles & monuments

Visiting

Historic Environment Scotland, open in summer.

Cover of The Ledger of Lost Britain by Cale Mills
Read the full story in the book

The Ledger of Lost Britain

The Romans arrived in AD 43. For most people that is where the history of Britain begins. But by the time the legions landed, people had already been living on these islands for thousands of years. They had hunted, farmed, mined flint, dragged stones across the country, raised a hill by hand, and buried their dead in great tombs. They left no written words. What they left was the ground itself. Every place in this book can be visited, or has been dug up, or is in a museum.

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