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

  SM5687_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600011585)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of at least two enclosed prehistoric settlements dating probably to between 1200 BC and AD 400. The settlements lie buried beneath the plough soil and are visible as cropmarks captured on oblique aerial photographs. The westernmost settlement comprises a sub-circular ditch about 4m wide, enclosing an area measuring about 60m in diameter. About 100m to the E, a second larger settlement comprises a substantial rectilinear enclosure, measuring 80m SW-NE by 60m transversely, which abuts the remains of a further two, smaller sub-circular enclosures. All of the enclosed settlements are likely to contain the remains of houses and other structures in their interiors. The settlements occupy an area of relatively level ground on the coastal plain 1.5km SE of Cockenzie power station, at around 35m above OD. The monument was first scheduled in 1993, but the scheduling documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

The scheduled area is irregular on plan, to include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the construction of the settlements, their use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground elements of power pylons, interpretation display boards, stone dykes, and the top 300mm of the Tranent to Cockenzie waggonway footpath that transects the scheduled area.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because of its potential to make a significant addition to knowledge and understanding of rural settlement in the later Bronze Age and Iron Age. It is a rare example of a complex of sub-circular and sub-square settlement enclosures in the same location. It offers high potential to compare settlement form and character over a long time period and may encapsulate change in the later prehistoric landscape from circular to rectilinear settlement. The monument's importance is enhanced by its association with the wider landscape of enclosed settlements on this part of the coastal plain. This landscape forms one of the most important concentrations of evidence for social and economic change in southern Scotland in the 1st millennia BC and AD. Our understanding of the distribution and character of later prehistoric settlements in SE Scotland would be diminished if this monument was to be lost or damaged.

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.