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

  SM90218_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014744)

Summary

Description

The monument consists of an Iron Age defended settlement centred upon a broch and including a number of houses, all situated upon a promontory protected by a ditch and stout masonry forework.

The site has been excavated and is laid out for the public. It is in the care of the Secretary of State.

The earliest element appears to be a deep rock-cut ditch cutting off the promontory. Built partly into this is a solid block of masonry with an entrance passage at the SE side. Behind this forework is a broch, still standing to 4.3m high. The broch tower, which shows signs of having become unstable soon after its construction, is 18m in external diameter and encloses a circular inner area, 9.6m across, within which there is a jumble of inner partitions, tanks and hearths, all of stone.

It is likely that some of these features are later than the broch. Outside the broch stands one complete house foundation, with fragments of several others, including domestic structures located between the masonry forework and the broch. Evidence for metal-working has been recovered from the site.

The area to be scheduled is that enclosed within the fence and wall which define the area in care, and bounded on most of the seaward side by a modern sea-wall. It measures a maximum of 95m NW-SE by 43m, to include the broch, outer works and houses, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as one of the finest field examples of its type. It displays several interesting features, notably the evidence for early instability of the broch wall and the measures taken to stabilise this. Of particular importance is the evidence preserved for the history of use of the site, apparently showing a sequence of defensive and non-defensive use from the later centuries BC through to the mid first millennium AD.

The monument also has considerable remaining archaeological potential, in undisturbed deposits, and could contribute, through excavation and analysis, to the study of the development of prehistoric defensive and domestic architecture, the development of metallurgy and, in general, the late prehistoric domestic and agricultural economy.

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.