Scheduled Monument

Kilearnan, settlement, cairns and field systems S of GailiableSM4441

Status: Removed

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.

Summary

Date Added
02/02/1988
Date Removed:
01/02/2016
Local Authority
Highland
Parish
Kildonan
NGR
NC 94600 17300
Coordinates
294600, 917300

Removal Reason

This is a sizeable 7 ha scheduling, but we do not consider that the archaeological remains can still be regarded as nationally important. The SM covers the sites of four hut circles, but one has been extensively damaged by archaeological excavation and forestry groundworks and a second has been poached by deer. Several of the small cairns have also been excavated, and the remains of field systems are not readily legible. The remains here are comparable with others found on hillsides across Sutherland and do not retain their field characteristics to a marked degree. Much of their potential has been realised by landscape survey and sample excavation undertaken in the 1980s.

Description

The monument consists of a sample of a prehistoric settlement and co-occurring cairns and field systems in a southern side valley of the Strath of Kildonan. The monument consists of 5 parcels of ground containing 5 round houses, numerous small cairns and portions of field walls. Four of the houses are traditional hut circles; the fifth, most easterly, is a roughly circular area of ancient disturbance, masked by peat, without a surrounding bank. The peat overlying the houses and other structures seems generally to have started growing in the second half of the second millenium BC and two radiocarbon dates suggest the houses were last used in the same period.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of particular interest as a carefully selected sample of the settlement on the upper slopes of a major northern valley. The limited excavation which has taken place has demonstrated the potential of the sites without destroying them. The monument is of national importance to the themes of prehistoric settlement and agriculture.

References

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the site as NC91NE 54.

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.

Images

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Printed: 04/05/2024 11:32