Huly Hill, cairn & stone circle SW of Newbridge roundabout

Huly Hill Cairn stands on a low, grassy mound about thirty metres across and three metres high, just west of Edinburgh Airport near Newbridge in Midlothian. A busy motorway passes close by, separating most of the site from a single large stone in an industrial estate to the east. The mound is thought to date from the Bronze Age and was partly excavated in 1830, when animal bones and a bronze spearhead were found. The excavation revealed no human remains, suggesting the mound may not have been used for burial. In the 18th or 19th century a low retaining wall was built around the edge to protect it. Three standing stones, each about two metres tall, stand on a wide circle roughly one hundred metres in diameter, linked by a gravel path for visitors. A fourth stone, nearly three metres high, stands alone in an industrial yard across the motorway. Excavations south of the mound in 2001 uncovered a chariot burial dating from about 450 BC, showing the site remained in use for more than two thousand years. The stones and the burial lie close together, offering a quiet reminder of the area’s long history.