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

  SM636_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600003525)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of a stone circle likely to date to the Neolithic/Bronze Age. It survives as a circular arrangement of nine stone boulders (monoliths) and associated buried deposits. The stone circle is located next to a conifer woodland access track in open, rough ground on the W side of a saddle formed by Whitcastles Hill and Hartfell at approximately 260m above sea level. The monument was first scheduled in 1937, but an inadequate area was included to protect all of the archaeological remains: the present rescheduling rectifies this.

The nine recumbent stone boulders, which are likely to have originally stood upright, define a flattened circular space measuring approximately 55m by 41m.

The area to be scheduled is a clipped circle on plan, to include the remains described above and an area around within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling extends up to but does not include the mapped metalled track and its associated drainage ditch.

Statement of National Importance

Cultural Significance

The monument's cultural significance can be expressed as follows:

Intrinsic characteristics

The stone circle is a well-preserved example despite the impact of modern forestry ploughing and natural regeneration over part of the site. Nine individual boulders are present and they enclose a relatively large, near-circular space. The prostrate form of the boulders is relatively uncommon for a stone circle of this size. The area is likely to contain important artefactual and ecofactual remains relating to the site's construction, use and the wider environment at that time.

Contextual characteristics

This is a large, unusually-shaped example of its class and it reflects a long tradition of ceremony and ritual activity (which researchers believe included celestial observation) from the Neolithic through to the Bronze Age. It could represent the culmination of a number of building phases but researchers believe that because the monoliths are lying flat it may represent a very rare, unfinished example. There are widespread views to the west of the monument but its intended visibility (which appears to be a factor in the location of other examples) is obscured by modern forestry. The class of well over a hundred examples of stone circles are found in groups distributed across Scotland (one such grouping exists in the south-west) and researchers have suggested that stone circles in the south-west belong to a western seaboard tradition that places greater significance on the routeways of the Irish Sea and associated coastlines of the NW British Isles. The monument's proximity to other broadly contemporary monuments reinforces our interest in its position and setting.

National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to the understanding of the past, in particular the ceremonial practices of Neolithic and Bronze-Age communities in SW Scotland. Its relatively good preservation, interesting form and known period of use enhance this potential. The loss of this example would significantly diminish our future ability to appreciate and understand prehistoric ritual life in Scotland.

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.