Documents

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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

  SM10795_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600013779)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of a campsite, constructed by soldiers of the Ordnance Survey in the earlier part of the 19th century while conducting the first triangulation of Scotland. It also includes the remains, on the nearby summit, of the original survey cairn, as well as later survey points.

The campsite lies on the E flank of Meall nan Con, the highest summit of the Ben Klibreck ridge. It consists of several foundations, aligned along the hillside, just below the crest of the ridge, not far from the summit itself. The most substantial, and the furthest from the summit, is a small rectangular drystone building, standing to gable height at the N end. This structure has a small fireplace and chimney void in the NE end, and a doorway in the S end of the SE wall. Along the SE wall, overlooking the downhill slope, is a broad platform of large slabs. By analogy with similar camps elsewhere, this building would have been the cookhouse and duty room of the camp.

At the same level as this structure, and between it and the foot of the summit slope, there are several sub-circular scooped platforms in the hillside, three of them revetted with large stone slabs on the downhill side. At least two smaller, non-revetted platforms also survive. These platforms would have been the bases for the stout canvas bell-tents used as accommodation by the survey party. On the very summit of the hill, to the SW of the camp, a large circular enclosure of drystone construction overlies the remains of the original survey cairn (and is no doubt constructed from it). Within this enclosure are contained the modern (1960s?) triangulation pillar and its broken (1930s?) predecessor.

Such camps are often known as Colby Camps, named after the officer commanding the Ordnance Survey at the time. The nature of the instruments of the period, the need for very precise measurements and the exigencies of Scottish mountain weather frequently necessitated lengthy stays at high altitude (in one extreme case, three months) to complete the measurements required. This survey programme laid the backbone of the mapping system that served Britain until recent advances in satellite and electronic distance measurement.

The area to be scheduled is in two parts. A circular area, 20 in diameter, includes the stone shelter, the underlying remains of the original survey cairn and the two triangulation pillars. An approximately rectangular area, up to 100m NE-SW by 50m NW-SE, includes the stone building and the various tent platforms, as well as an area around them in which evidence relating to their construction and occupation is likely to survive. These areas are marked in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as one of the key sites of the early 19th-century primary triangulation of Great Britain. As such, it has great significance in the history of scientific cartography, in which Britain was probably the world leader at that date. Only a few camps survive to this standard of preservation. Its existence serves as a reminder of the intensity of manual effort once required to conduct survey measurements which are now almost effortless and routine.

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.