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

  SM5798_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600011695)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of a broch with associated external structures and internal occupation deposits, dating from the Iron Age to the late 1st millennium AD.

The monument is situated on an islet in Loch na Berie behind the Traigh na Berie machair at around 5m OD. The loch has now been reduced to a marsh with open water remaining only at its W extremity. A substantial stone causeway runs E-W across this open water for a distance of approximately 30m, linking the former islet to the shore.

Excavations in the 1980s demonstrated that the walls of the broch, formerly visible as a low, grassy mound, survive to first-floor level. The broch is 18m in overall basal diameter and approximately 3m in surviving "height" (largely preserved under modern ground level) with an E-facing entrance. Two concentric ground-level walls enclose a series of seven intra-mural cells, each opening off the interior. The overall wall width is some 3m. The longest of the galleries contains stairs to the first floor where an entrance to the interior of the broch is situated. The stairs continue up towards the (now removed) 2nd floor. The first floor intra-mural gallery runs around the entire broch and was entered through a single doorway from the interior at first-floor level, presumably from a vanished

wooden interior landing or stair.

The internal deposits show a long sequence of occupation culminating in a series of cellular houses which have yielded material of 5th-8th century date AD. As much as 2m of internal deposits, including waterlogged material, appears to survive below the excavated structures. The broch appears to have been abandoned around the time of the first Norse incursions into the Western Isles and no trace of Norse material has been identified on the site. Excavation concentrated on the interior of the broch and there is a strong likelihood of preserved, extra-mural structures under modern ground level on the former islet.

The area to be scheduled encompasses the broch and its causeway together with an area around them in which traces of associated structures and deposits may be expected to survive. It is irregular in shape with maximum dimensions of 100m E-W by 50m as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because of its potential to contribute to our knowledge of high-status settlement and economy in the period from the later 1st millennium BC to the 8th century AD. The rich sequence of occupation deposits and buildings, particularly the lower, waterlogged levels, may be expected to contain significant information for prehistoric domestic organisation and house construction. The waterlogged deposits will also contain significant material relating to the economy and environment of the period.

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.