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

  SM474_Legal Doc_Redacted

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600002115)

Summary

Description

The monument is the remains of a grass-covered cairn probably dating to the Bronze Age (between about 2500 BC and 800 BC). It is conical in shape and measures about 15m in diameter and 1.5m high. Occasional cairn stones protrude through the turf. The cairn is positioned on a low rise about 65m above sea level, and there are relatively long views in all directions, including northwards to Dunnet Bay.

The scheduled area is irregular on plan to include the remains described above and an area around in which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. To the east, the scheduling extends up to but excludes a stone dyke. The monument was first scheduled in 1938; the present amendment provides documents to current standards.

Statement of National Importance

The monument can make a significant contribution to our understanding of the past, particularly the design and construction of burial monuments and the nature of belief systems and burial practices during the Bronze Age. Ritual and funerary monuments are a major source of evidence for human activity during the Bronze Age in Scotland and are particularly important for enhancing our understanding of Bronze Age society, its organisation, economy, religion and demography. This mound retains good field characteristics and appears little disturbed, allowing us to interpret its original form and function. It retains high potential for buried archaeological remains including burials, artefacts and palaeoenvironmental evidence. Burial monuments such as this are rare surviving  components of what would have been a wider prehistoric landscape of land-use, settlement and ritual. This example is particularly interesting as it has a relatively open aspect within the landscape, with views to several other cairns. The loss of the monument would diminish our future ability to appreciate and understand funerary practice and approaches to death and burial in prehistoric times, and the placing of such monuments within the landscape.

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.