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

  SM4593_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600010505)

Summary

Description

The monument lies in moorland and its main component is a turf covered mound 20m to 30m in diameter and 1m to 2m high. It has been disturbed, quite possibly by excavation which may be the source of finds donated to NMAS in 1908-9; but the finds are recorded only as coming from a mound on Keiss Moor. Footings of some drystone structure are visible in the NE part of the Mound.

To the NW of the main mound is a kidney shaped peat or turf mound 10m in diameter with large stones round its edges, while to the NE of the main mound is a mound 6m in diameter and 0.8m high and immediately to the N is a heavy peat covered mound measuring 16m x 8m and 1.6m high. 20m to the W is yet another mound, 7m in diameter and 1m high.

The complex is reminiscent of the Kirkstones nearby, which is a settlement, and possibly church, of pre clearance date. The finds reported in 1908-9 from Kiess Moor consist of artefacts appropriate to a similar broad medieval to early post-medieval date for Green Hill of Clayton.

There are traces of cultivation in the area around Green Hill, and 40m to its W is a turf banked enclosure which is not included in the scheduling proposal since it is believed that the area proposed should contain adequate evidence of agricultural aspects of the settlement.

Statement of National Importance

Such settlement is extremely rarely identifiable in the uplands of N Scotland, where the predominant recognised remains are prehistoric or of the clearance period. Its abandonment has frozen evidence of a stage of development of N Scottish settlement, probably originally common. The monument is of national importance not only for its bearing on upland settlement but also for its relevance to the likely predominant settlement type throughout N Scotland in the period between the Norse incursions and the overwhelming adoption of building styles typified by the clearance settlements. It is thus of national importance for its archaeological potential in studies of Medieval and post-Medieval settlement.

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.