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

  SM11817_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014103)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of a small fort, probably dating to the Iron Age. It is sited on a rocky ridge, at a height of approximately 260m above sea level, rising from Ashie Moor between Loch Ness and Loch Duntelchaig.

The ridge runs NNE to SSW. It is protected in the E and SE by a cliff and in the N and W by a rocky scarp, with the only easy access by a slope from the SW. A drystone rubble wall surrounds the highest part of the ridge, of which only the W half survives, enclosing a roughly circular area measuring about 30m in diameter. Where best preserved, in the SW, the wall spreads to 3.8m thick and stands to a height of up to 2m. A second wall of similar thickness extends from the cliff-edge on the SE to take in a terrace below the inner wall and swing in a gentle arc to end on the top of the cliff on the NE. Both walls have an entrance in the SW, partially blocked by tumble. The remains of a third line of defence can be seen on the NW, where a ditch with an outer upcast bank, now 0.6m high, flanks the base of the ridge to join the outer wall. Archaeologists have previously recorded traces of this third defensive circuit, 7 m out from the second wall, in the heather on the SW side. No structures have been noted in the interior, apart from a wet hollow which may have served as a cistern.

The area to be scheduled is polygonal on plan, to include the visible remains and an area around in 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: The location, form and size of the monument suggest it represents the remains of a small fort, probably of Iron Age date. It is defended by inner and outer stone ramparts crowning a rocky outcrop, commanding the lower lying ground of Ashie Moor, where extensive remains of prehistoric settlement have been identified. Despite much of the ramparts having tumbled downslope, sufficient remains to define accurately the course of the defences, and we can expect preservation of archaeological deposits relating to the defensive circuit and settlement within the interior. It therefore has the potential to reveal valuable information about local variations in domestic architecture and building use, as well as the character of late prehistoric fortifications.

Contextual characteristics: As the remains of a small fortified settlement, the monument has the potential to reveal much about house building and domestic life as well as the character of fortifications in the later prehistoric communities of NE Scotland. Comparing and contrasting it to other small forts in elevated locations along Strathnairn, such as the fort by Milton of Tordarroch, and to the many others occurring all over the Highland zone of Scotland, can create an understanding of regional identity and society. The monument complements the other types of prehistoric settlement sites identified close by in Strathnairn, to provide a fuller picture of prehistoric landscape and society in the region over time.

The inhabitants of forts lived in round, thatched timber (sometimes stone) houses. The smaller forts, such as this, would have accommodated only one or two round houses. Although most small forts are thought to date to the second half of the 1st millennium BC, within the Iron Age, some forts were built or re-occupied up to AD 1000. Archaeological evidence from other forts in eastern Scotland suggest that the largest defensive enclosures are of relatively early date (some as early as the Late Bronze Age, about 800 BC) and that forts became progressively smaller in the course of the 1st millennium BC. If there is any relationship between the size of fortifications and their social or political significance, power appears to have been focussed in the hands of progressively smaller groups of people. The fort at Ashie Moor would probably have been the stronghold of a relatively small group, who held sway over the agricultural land overlooked by the fort.

National Importance

This monument is of national importance because it is represents good surviving evidence of a late prehistoric fortified settlement, an important element in our inherited, fragmented picture of prehistoric settlement in Strathnairn. It has the potential to make a significant contribution to our knowledge of fortifications, vernacular architecture, landuse and society in this locality and, by association, the rest of Scotland in the later prehistoric period. The loss of this site in this locality 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.

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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.