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

  SM1477_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600004225)

Summary

Description

The monument is a broch mound dating probably to the Iron Age (between about 600 BC and AD 400). This substantial broch mound is flat-topped and circular in plan. It is approximately 19m in diameter and stands up to 1.8m high. The broch tower has been partly excavated in the past and part of the internal wall-face and an intramural cell are exposed in the top of the mound. An external ditch and bank are visible around the mound, but have been partly obscured by previous quarrying of the site. Between the broch tower and the surrounding ditch, quarrying has revealed upright slabs, indicating the possible presence of a broch village around the tower. The broch mound is located in an area of improved ground partly enclosed by a drystone wall, which is associated with an abandoned farmstead located just N of the broch mound. The broch is located on the summit of Vinquin Hill at about 100m above sea level. It has extensive views in all directions but especially to the N and E, over Eynhallow Sound and towards Rousay. The monument was first scheduled in 1936, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

The scheduled area is circular on plan, 70m in diameter, to include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

This monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to our understanding of the past, in particular of Iron Age society in Orkney and the function, use and development of brochs. The monument offers considerable potential to study the relationship between the broch tower and its surrounding ditch, as well as any surrounding buildings and associated archaeological remains. By analogy with excavated brochs in Orkney, Vinquin broch is likely to retain its structural characteristics to a marked degree and to have a complex development sequence: it may overlie earlier remains and will probably include evidence for later re-use of the site. It is highly likely to contain occupation debris rich in artefacts, ecofacts and palaeoenvironmental evidence. The monument's importance is enhanced by its unusual hilltop location and its association with the wider landscape of Iron Age brochs and settlement in Orkney, including Mid Howe and the other brochs on the SW coast of Rousay. The loss of the monument would significantly diminish our future ability to appreciate and understand the development and use of brochs in Orkney.

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.