Documents

Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).

The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.

• Type

  Legal Documents

  Title

  SM12011_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014155)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises a ring cairn, a form of prehistoric burial mound. It is located in a small clearing in Bennachie Forest, a mature conifer plantation on the E flank of Millstone Hill, at about 210m above sea level.

The monument consists of a grass- and heather-covered cairn measuring about 14.5m in diameter and about 1m in height. The cairn has a flat top and a circular hollow (known as the inner court) measuring about 4m in diameter, slightly to the E of its centre. Ring cairns are features of the recumbent stone circle and Clava cairn traditions of N and NE Scotland, placing their date of construction and use within the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age.

The area to be scheduled is circular on plan, centred on the cairn, to include the remains described and an area around in which evidence relating to its construction and use may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

Cultural Significance

The monument's cultural significance can be expressed as follows:

Intrinsic characteristics

The monument is in a good state of preservation. Unusually for this class of monument, its characteristic structural features are readily visible. Its associated archaeological deposits are likely to be well preserved and it retains the potential to provide dating evidence for its use and information about how it was constructed and used. It is also likely to seal information about the prehistoric environment in which it was built.

Contextual characteristics

Although mature trees currently obscure views to the wider setting of the cairn, it occupies a prominent position in the landscape and would originally have had wide views over the surrounding area. It would have had a significant place within the prehistoric landscape of the area, and can be compared and contrasted with nearby prehistoric funerary monuments and others outside the region to create an understanding of regional identity and society during this period. The monument is one of a number of prehistoric settlement sites, both domestic and funerary, on this flank of Millstone Hill, further enhancing the value of the monument. The cairn straddles the 19th-century parish boundary between Oyne and Chapel of Garioch, suggesting that it served as a reference point in the medieval and post-medieval landscape.

National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it is a well-preserved late Neolithic or Bronze-Age cairn with good potential for the survival of archaeological evidence relating to its construction and use, as well as the environment in which it was created. Occupying a prominent position, it would have been visible from a wide area of the prehistoric landscape in which people conducted their day-to-day activities. Its loss would affect our ability to understand this landscape and prehistoric society in this locality and, by association, the rest of Scotland.

References

Bibliography

About Scheduled Monuments

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).

The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.

Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.

Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.