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

  SM11608_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014044)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises a small Iron Age fort situated across a small ridge, lying in uncultivated pasture 350m WNW of Easter Lochend farm.

The fort straddles a thin ridge running E to W, measuring approximately 29m in diameter from N to S by 39m transversely, enclosing an internal area of about 1130 square metres. The monument is defined by a bank, 0.5m high, with an outer ditch 0.5m deep and 3m wide crossing the ridge to the E and W, thus isolating a level interior. To the N, soil creep has removed the outer edge of the ditch, thus creating a small terrace. To the S, dense whin obscures the line of the ditch and bank. No entrance is evident, and there is no visible stonework.

The area to be scheduled is circular on plan, to include the remains described and an area around in which evidence relating to the fort's 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: As a small Iron Age fort in good condition, the monument retains well-defined sections of its perimeter bank and ditch. The turf covering of the perimeter bank is likely to aid the preservation of structural features within it. A lack of intensive landuse across the site, due to its topography and location on marginal land, means that the potential for preservation of features relating to the construction and use of the fort is high. Potential exists for preservation of buried soil beneath the ramparts, which would aid our understanding of the environmental conditions at the time people built the monument.

Contextual characteristics: Iron Age people often sited their forts on rocky knolls and ridges, potentially for a variety of reasons: defence, availability of building material, visibility within the landscape; avoiding the use of land that could otherwise be cultivated. This monument has a strategic overview and thus control of the landscape stretching down to the River Nairn. Spatial analysis of the site's relationship with nearby Iron Age defensive and settlement sites in the wider landscape may enhance our understanding of the role of such structures, particularly about society and economy. Comparison of the fort with others will enable a better understanding of the construction and form of Iron Age defended hill forts.

National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it is a good example of a well-preserved Iron Age fort with bank and outer ditch remaining, situated in a strategic location commanding a large area of cultivable land. The monument has the potential to provide well-preserved archaeological deposits within not just the interior of the fort but also within the surrounding ditch. Potential exists to further our understanding of the value of a relict landscape during the Bronze Age and Iron Age. Its loss would impede our future ability to appreciate and understand the Iron Age landscape and its inhabitants.

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.