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

  SM5324_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600011226)

Summary

Description

The monument is a relict agricultural landscape in which survive settlements of at least three periods, with elements of their associated farming systems and some burial cairns, situated on the heather and grass moorland of the Pitcarmick Estate, over an area of approximately 400 hectares.

There are the remains of at least 60 individual circular houses, representing settlement of the Bronze Age. There are also the remains of 9 long rectangular buildings with sunken floors, known as "Pitcarmick type" structures; most of these lie within concentrations of earlier round houses; their exact date is not known. Finally there are the remains of many rectangular buildings and shielings of the

kind associated with upland farming before the agricultural improvements of the 18th and 19th centuries.

In most cases the individual houses and settlement groups are surrounded by the remains of cultivation systems marked by stone clearance heaps, lynchets, and low stone and turf banks. Some elements of the field systems are clearly visible, in recently burned areas; others are imperfectly visible in older heather. There is clear evidence that beneath the peat and heather are extensive remains of cultivation in the form of "cord-rig" narrow ridging.

Within the area to be scheduled are the remains of 4 burial cairns, which may precede the earliest houses known in the area. The area to be scheduled is irregular; it measures a maximum of 1740m N to S and a maximum of 3140m E to W, as marked in red on the attached map. The line of existing hill tracks and the structure of existing bothies and other buildings are specifically excluded from the scheduling.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as a complex of settlements and field systems of the prehistoric period overlain by at least two later complexes of settlements and field systems, which has the potential to enhance very considerably our understanding of the nature of the function and date of individual buildings, settlements and field systems, and groups of settlements and field systems. Of even greater significance is the exceptional potential that this relict landscape has to advance our understanding of the development of human settlement, the development of the farmed landscape and the development of human interaction with the natural environment.

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.