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

  SM11607_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014043)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises an alignment of three cairns of probable Bronze Age date that lie at around 25m above sea level, close to the River Nairn. They sit in regenerating woodland 325m ENE of Ackron cottage at Kinchyle farm, each visible as a mound covered in grass, broom and gorse.

Situated on the crest of a glacial ridge, the cairns are aligned from NW to SE and set about 5m apart. The NW cairn measures approximately 6.5m in diameter and survives to about 0.5m in height. The central cairn measures approximately 7m in diameter and about 0.5m high, with the SE cairn measuring 3m in diameter and about 0.3m in height. The remains of a partial ditch surrounds the central and SE cairns; the central cairn has traces of a ditch 1m wide to its N and E sides, with the SE cairn having traces of a ditch 0.5m wide also to its N and E sides.

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

Statement of National Importance

Cultural Significance

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

Intrinsic characteristics: Visible as an alignment of turf and scrub-covered mounds, the monument is an excellent example of a well-preserved Bronze Age cairn complex. There has been a lack of intensive landuse on the site in recent times; historical mapping shows woodland over the site as well as the current regenerating woodland. This indicates the potential for good preservation of funerary remains and archaeological deposits within each cairn. Buried soil beneath each cairn, and deposits within the fill of each ditch, may be preserved, and these would provide evidence of the Bronze Age environment at the time people built the cairns. The monument has the potential to further our understanding of Bronze Age funerary practices, as well as inform our knowledge of the structural features of small cairns and surrounding ditches.

Contextual characteristics: The three cairns are representative of the clusters of prehistoric burial monuments which characterise this region. The proximity and visibility of a large barrow 400m to the SSE at Hangman's Hill enhances their value. A range of other prehistoric funerary sites are clustered along the Nairn valley, including a large group of cropmarks indicating a Bronze Age settlement and ritual site 500m to the ESE. Spatial analysis of these cairns and other burial sites may further our understanding of funerary site location, the structure of society, and the Bronze Age economy. Information gained from the preservation and study of this site has the potential to offer an insight into the wider knowledge of Bronze Age funerary practices across Scotland.

National Importance

This monument is of national importance because it is a well-preserved, representative cluster of small Bronze Age burial cairns that characterise the wider relict funerary landscape. They form an intrinsic element of the prehistoric burial and settlement pattern along the River Nairn. Funerary remains and artefacts from cairns have the potential to tell us about wider prehistoric society, how people lived, where they came from and who they had contact with. The old ground surfaces sealed by the monument can provide information about what the contemporary environment looked like and how the prehistoric farmers who buried and cremated their dead here managed it. Its loss would impede our ability to understand the placing of such monuments within the landscape both in this region and across Scotland, as well as our knowledge of Bronze Age social structure and economy.

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.