Scheduled Monument

Barns of Airlie, souterrain 495m WSW ofSM136

Status: Designated

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.

Summary

Date Added
25/03/1954
Last Date Amended
28/07/2015
Supplementary Information Updated
19/07/2016
Type
Prehistoric domestic and defensive: souterrain, earth-house
Local Authority
Angus
Parish
Airlie
NGR
NO 30574 51529
Coordinates
330574, 751529

Description

The monument is a stone-built souterrain, a type of prehistoric underground structure dating probably to the Roman Iron Age (sometime in the first two centuries AD). The souterrain is visible as an underground curving passage, with rubble-built side-walls and a roof of large stone slabs. It is about 20m long, aligned roughly NW-SE, with an entrance at the NW end. Internally it measures about 1.5m wide and stands 1.6m high. One of the roof slabs bears incised decoration of cup-marks and serpent-like motifs. The original entrance is flanked by two upright slabs and has been neatly blocked. Immediately N of the entrance, two roof slabs have been removed to provide modern access. The passage interior was investigated when it was discovered in 1794, and again in 1864. Quern stones have been found in the immediate vicinity of the souterrain, indicating that the remains of an associated house or settlement probably lie nearby. The structure lies below an arable field and is crossed by a stone dyke. It is located on the crest of a rise at around 130m OD, to the W of the farm at Barns of Airlie. The monument was first scheduled in 1954, but the documents did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this. The area to be scheduled is irregular on plan to include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground remains of the stone dyke and post-and-wire fences.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it has the potential to make a significant addition to our understanding of souterrains and their role in late Iron Age economy and society. It is a fine example of its type, retaining intact side-walls and roof slabs, one of which bears incised serpent-like figures on the lower face. Although most of the monument lies below ground level, the structure would have been an important component of the prehistoric landscape, and was probably associated with an above-ground house or settlement. It may have acted as a focal point in the community as a place where agricultural surpluses were collected and stored. Its importance is enhanced because the souterrains of eastern central Scotland form an important concentration of evidence for social and economic change in the early first millennium AD, especially in the Roman Iron Age. Our understanding of the distribution and character of Iron Age souterrains would be diminished if this monument was to be lost or damaged.

References

Bibliography

Other Information

RCAHMS records the monument as NO35SW 19. The Angus SMR reference is NO35SW0019.

References

Bryson, S 1990, 'Airlie (Airlie parish), survey of souterrain', Discovery Excav Scot, 39-40.

Childe and Graham, V G and A 1943, 'Some notable prehistoric and medieval monuments recently examined by The Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland', Proc Soc Antiq Scot 77, 37-8.

Jervise, A 1865, 'Notice of antiquities in the parish of Airlie, Forfarshire', Proc Soc Antiq Scot 5, 352-4.

RCAHMS 1942-3, Emergency Survey. 2v typescripts.

RCAHMS 1983, The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The archaeological sites and monuments of Central Angus, Angus District, Tayside Region, The archaeological sites and monuments of Scotland series no 18, Edinburgh, 29, no 235.

Wainwright, F T 1963, The souterrains of southern Pictland, London, 154-6.

Williamson, S 2013, An investigation into the re-use of cup-and-ring marked stones in Iron Age souterrain settlements of south-east Scotland, MA dissertation (School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh).

Wood, J S and Bryson, S (eds) 2005, An archaeological survey of a souterrain at the Barns of Airlie, ACFA Occasional Paper.

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.

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Printed: 03/05/2024 11:17