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

  SM11876_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014117)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises a small, single-dwelling farmstead with associated structures and a revetted enclosure, possibly for animals, visible as upstanding remains. It lies in moorland, between two burns, 575m SSW of the occupied farmstead of Ruallan, at approximately 235m above sea level.

The visible remains comprise two structures with associated artificial platforms and enclosures. The first structure to the NE, orientated NE to SW, consists of a main building with two annexes. The main element of the structure is 20m long and approximately 4.5m in width. It has two alcoves, or bedneuks, that measure three square metres. The walls are 0.8m high and approximately 0.75m in width. They were constructed using drystone techniques: large rounded cobbles make the face with smaller stones used for the core. There is a gap in the wall to the N of the eastern bedneuk, which measures 0.7m. This may be a possible entrance or evidence of robbing. The main dwelling structure has two annexes tacked on to the NW of the structure. The first measures 7.5m by 4.5m, narrowing to 4m, and the second, which attaches to the first annexe, measures 3m by 2.5m.

The second structure lies 12.5m to the SW of the first. It measures 10.3m by 4m and is orientated NW to SE. It is a single rectangular building, partially built into the slope. A platform abuts the SW wall of the structure and is 0.5m in height with a more coarsely constructed platform to the NW. A small enclosure is revetted into the slope to the SW, the wall measuring up to 1m in height. Stone clearance dumps lie within the enclosure, probably deposited after the enclosure and dwelling fell out of use.

The monument is a small rural settlement that typifies the colonisation of the marginal farmland in the early 19th century due to population growth. The Ordnance Survey First Edition map dating to 1871-5 show it as already unroofed by this time. It is therefore likely to date to the early 19th century and there is some suggestion that people still lived there during the 1841 census.

The area to be scheduled is rectangular on plan and includes the remains described and an area around, in which traces of associated activity may be expected to 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: This is a well-preserved later rural settlement with associated enclosures and platforms. It includes certain different architectural elements that add to our understanding of rural settlement and rural building construction in the early 19th century. The monument also has the archaeological potential to add to our understanding of farming and general living conditions in the post-medieval period prior to the Clearances in the Highland region.

Contextual characteristics: This monument is representative of the way the rural population lived and worked in the early 19th century in areas of marginal farmland. It is part of a complex settlement pattern associated with historical influences such as tenure and population growth and has the potential to allow us to add to our understanding of the differing types of settlement pattern throughout upland, lowland and marginal areas. It also has the potential to add to our understanding of how people in the 19th century worked within the limitations of the landscape and how they adapted to accommodate those limitations.

Associative characteristics: This monument exemplifies a type of settlement associated with population growth in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as people moved out from over-exploited traditional farmland. However, changes in the political climate and events in the second half of the 19th century, such as the Highland Clearances and the Industrial Revolution, caused major population movement. This meant that many of these types of dwellings became unoccupied very soon afterwards. This type of monument signifies a site with a short developmental sequence historically and archaeologically, which adds to its significance for providing information about a specific historical period.

National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to the understanding of the past, in particular our understanding of later rural settlement in the Highlands and the rest of Scotland. The retention of structural and architectural elements to a marked degree also allows us to understand how these settlements were constructed and how people lived in 19th-century rural Scotland. The loss of this example would impede our future ability to understand the history of that period and how rural communities exploited the landscape in the post-medieval period.

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.