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

  SM11805_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014098)

Summary

Description

The monument is a bivallate, roughly circular enclosure visible as a cropmark on oblique aerial photographs and interpreted as the site of a later prehistoric defended settlement. It lies in arable land 3km SSE of Nairn at a height of approximately 60m above sea level.

Cropmarks represent negative archaeological features, the fills of which retain more moisture than the surrounding subsoil, resulting in the enhanced growth of the crops above. The enclosure appears to consist of two concentric ditches measuring approximately 50m by 40m in diameter overall. These enclose the relatively flat top of a natural hillock. No convincing archaeological features are yet identified from existing aerial photography in the interior of the enclosure.

The area to be scheduled is circular on plan, to include the remains visible on the aerial photography and an area around in which evidence relating to the construction and use of the site 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: Archaeologists have identified the double-ditched enclosure from aerial photography where it is visible as a clearly identifiable cropmark within an arable field. As a bivallate defended settlement or fort, it is a rare class of monument in the lowlands of the NE of Scotland. The boundary ditches and interior of the monument are likely to preserve archaeological deposits. It therefore has the potential to reveal valuable information about local variations in prehistoric settlement.

Contextual characteristics: The prehistoric settlement record N of the Mounth is mainly composed of unenclosed roundhouses and souterrains, but a small number of enclosed settlements are also scattered across this area. With the exception of a handful of rectilinear examples, these are mainly circular or oval enclosed by single ditches 2m to 5m wide, and ranging from 20m to 80m in internal diameter. Aerial photographs reveal few details of the interior of these enclosures. The bivallate enclosure at Raitcastle is clearly a rare form of monument in the region, but more common in the lowlands of southern Scotland. The possibility exists that the two ditches are not contemporary but represent different phases in the life of the monument.

The dating of oval and circular enclosures is uncertain. The only excavated examples in the region have provided radiocarbon later prehistoric dates in the 1st millennium BC (the end of the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age).

As the remains of a late prehistoric enclosed settlement site, the monument has the potential to reveal much about domestic life and the economic base in the later prehistoric communities of NE Scotland. Comparing and contrasting it to other lowland cropmark sites and extant upland enclosures, both within and outside the region, can create an understanding of regional identity, economy and society. Sites such as this are rare survivors in the ploughlands of NE Scotland and the few identified so far occur mainly on the gravel flood plains of the major rivers flowing into the Moray Firth.

National Importance

This monument is of national importance because it is rare surviving evidence of later prehistoric defended settlements in the ploughlands of this region. It has the potential to make a significant contribution to our knowledge of landuse and society in this locality and, by association, the rest of Scotland in the later prehistoric period. The loss of this rare site in this area would affect our future ability to appreciate and understand the prehistoric 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.