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

  SM11251_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600013918)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of a multi-period settlement site that also includes some evidence for prehistoric ritual activity. Survey and excavations between 1989 and 1994, by Sheffield University, found evidence for settlement dating from the Neolithic (about 3600 years BC) to the 18th and 19th centuries. The stone-built elements of the excavated structures are still largely visible on site today, where not destroyed by the road and sheep pen.

The site of Alt Chrisal, situated in rough grazings on the S slopes of Ben Tangaval, is named after the stream that dissects the valley in which the field remains are to be found. In Neolithic times a sub-rectangular artificial platform was constructed on which structures were built and a range of craft activities took place (flint and pottery working), as well as food processing. This provides evidence for occupation by a small group of people who followed a mixed farming economy, with some fishing. Artefacts from Rum, Arran and N Ireland provide evidence for long-distance marine contacts, as do pottery forms. Structures a little further up the valley appear to be houses of an expanded settlement of slightly later date (late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age), with use still being made of the platform below. The excavators found evidence for the use of timber in building, although this decreased with time. The date of use of a rock shelter high up the valley is not known. On the lower, W side of burn the remains can be seen of the lower levels of a substantial, free-standing later prehistoric wheelhouse. Excavation revealed a complex series of build on this site, including later Pictish and Norse occupation. The next most obvious features are a blackhouse and separate byre that probably date from the 18th century. On the E side of the burn, high on the hill, is the remains of a probable early prehistoric burial cairn.

The area to be scheduled is irregular on plan, with maximum dimensions of 300m NNW-SSE by 270m NNE-SSW, to include the main focus of surviving above-ground structures at Alt Chrisal and an area in which evidence related to their construction and use may survive, as marked in red on the accompanying map extract. The fenceline along the roadside and around the sheep pen (which forms the S boundary of the site) is excluded from the scheduling, to allow for maintenance.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it comprises a complex and well-preserved multi-period settlement site with some of the earliest and best rare evidence for Neolithic settlement in the Western Isles (such remains tend only to be discovered by chance), a good example of a freestanding wheelhouse (elsewhere in the Western Isles and Shetland these tend to be largely subterranean) and a characteristic example of Barra blackhouse settlement (which is distinct from that found elsewhere in the Western Isles). The main structures have been excavated, but the key stone elements of the buildings survive and therefore convey a good impression of the nature and scale of the settlement in this area. Unexcavated parts of the site retain considerable potential to provide information about the long and complex use of this area and how this relates not just to contemporary activity elsewhere in the Western Isles, but also beyond. Finds from the excavated parts of the site have already provided important information for the extensive nature of martime contacts in this 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.