Scheduled Monument
Standing stone, 365m NNE of Torr nam Fiann Dun, Isle of MullSM10697
Status: Designated
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.
Summary
- Date Added
- 10/02/2003
- Last Date Amended
- 11/02/2025
- Type
- Prehistoric ritual and funerary: standing stone
- Local Authority
- Argyll And Bute
- Parish
- Kilninian And Kilmore
- NGR
- NM 54001 41933
- Coordinates
- 154001, 741933
Description
The monument is a single standing stone likely to date to the late Neolithic (3500BC-2500BC) or Bronze Age (2500BC-800BC). The stone has fallen and survives as a recumbent monolith oriented northeast by southwest. It measures about 2.55m in length and is rectangular in section, measuring about 0.5m in breadth and about 0.3m in thickness. It is positioned on a level shelf on a southeast facing hillside, with a track directly to the south, at about 60m above sea level.
The stone appears to have fallen to the southwest. A hollow previously recorded under its northeast end and now no longer visible has been interpreted as the probable socket of the stone. The southwest end of the stone is now embedded in the turf. Near the southwest end a large slice has been broken off from its underside (originally its west edge), and it is on the shoulder formed by this breakage that the stone has come to rest.
The scheduled area is circular, measuring 8m in diameter, centred on the monument. It includes the remains described above and an area around within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The above-ground components of the deer fence and the ditch associated with the adjacent track are specifically excluded from the scheduling.
Statement of National Importance
The monument is of national importance as it makes a significant contribution to our understanding or appreciation of the past as a good example of a single standing stone. It adds to our understanding of prehistoric ritual monuments. The monument has the potential to enhance our understanding of ritual and ceremonial activities in the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods, and specifically, the beliefs of the people who erected the standing stone and the associated activities carried out in its vicinity. It would have been an important component of the wider prehistoric landscape of settlement, agriculture and ritual and is part of a wider network of contemporary monuments. Ritual and ceremonial monuments such as standing stones are one of our main sources of information for the Neolithic and Bronze Age in Scotland and so are an important element in our understanding of the nature of Scotland's prehistoric society and landscape.
References
Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation
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.
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