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

  SM11798_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014095)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises a single hut circle, a Bronze-Age domestic structure dating to the first or second millennium BC. It lies in rough moorland on a hillside 1225m ENE of Balnught.

The hut circle comprises a 3 m wide by 0.7m high circular bank enclosing a central area 8 m in diameter. An entrance (2.5m wide) is visible to the E, at either side of which the bank ends taper slightly to 2.5m wide. The hut circle is covered by up to 0.25m of peat. The outer face of the bank to the N is indistinct, as it is set into the slope of the hillside. Probing suggests that the bank is built with stone and turf and possibly has a stone facing.

The area to be scheduled is a circle, centred on the hut circle, to include the hut circle and an area around it within which evidence relating to its 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: A well-preserved hut circle on a hillside above the river Findhorn, the site has potential to further our understanding of prehistoric domestic structures. Associations with the surrounding field clearance heaps can provide information on landuse and economy. Hut circles like this date to the first or second millennium BC. Lack of cultivation and intensive landuse indicates that the potential exists for the preservation of archaeological deposits relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment. In addition, it is likely that deposits survive that could provide data relating to the later prehistoric environment.

The site has considerable potential to enhance understanding of later prehistoric roundhouses and the daily lives of the people who occupied them.

Contextual characteristics: This hut circle is situated on a sloping hillside adjacent to cultivable land, with views over the river below. As it is not a complex site, it lies undisturbed and thus offers potential to add value to the group as a whole. Comparing and contrasting the hut circle to other nearby sites of the same type or date can enable an understanding of how such monuments are positioned within the landscape and their relationships with one another.

National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it is an excellent example of an undisturbed single hut circle. It has potential to add to our knowledge of the monument type as a whole, given its level of preservation and association with the surrounding field clearance heaps. The capacity exists for this monument to form part of a wider study of the later prehistoric upland landscape. Its loss would impede our ability to understand the placing of such monuments within the landscape, as well as our knowledge of later prehistoric domestic structures 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.