Cairnpapple Hill is a
hill with a dominating position in central lowland Scotland with views from coast to coast. It was used and re-used as a major
ritual site over about 4000 years, and in its day would have been comparable to better known sites like the
Standing Stones of Stenness. The summit lies 312 m
above sea level, and is about 2 miles (3 km) north of
Bathgate. In the 19th century the site was completely concealed by trees, then in 1947–1948 excavations by
Stuart Piggott found a series of ritual monuments from successive prehistoric periods. In 1998, Gordon Barclay re-interpreted the site for
Historic Scotland.