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

  SM12178_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014197)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of a stone-built burial cairn, possibly the central component of a recumbent stone circle, dating from the third millennium BC. Recumbent stone circles are the ceremonial and ritual activity centres of people who recognised the alignment of celestial bodies (such as the moon) and who deliberately built these substantial monuments at specific points in the landscape. This example is located in mature conifer woodland at the northern end of a distinctive part of the Strathdon landscape formed by the U-shaped course of the River Don (some 4km to the south) and a series of low summits forming a roughly E-W axis immediately to the north. The monument sits on a S-facing slope, in the centre of the E-W line of the low summits, at approximately 160m above sea level.

The circular setting of kerbstones that define the outer edge of the cairn vary in size and appear to be graded so that the larger individuals are in the S and SW arcs and the smaller ones are in the N and NE arcs. Some of these are now missing but the outline of the kerb is clear and measures approximately 15m in diameter. The kerb is no more than 0.6m high today and the larger stones measure roughly 0.5m wide by 0.5m deep. The inner space contained by the kerb is uneven but it rises to the centre, formed by a low mound of small, loose stones. This central low mound suggests this was not a ring cairn as was thought by some researchers.

There is a large monolith forming part of a dyke running N-S 60m to the west of the cairn. This is possibly the relocated remains of one of the standing stones of a stone circle that once enclosed this cairn.

The area to be scheduled is circular on plan, centred on the cairn, to include the remains described and an area around within which evidence relating to its construction and use may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

Cultural Significance

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

Intrinsic characteristics

The monument retains a good proportion of its key structural elements including a circular, perimeter kerb of sorted stones and the loose remains of a central stone mound. It is likely to retain buried deposits inside, outside and beneath the perimeter, which can help us understand more about the monument's construction, use and specifically, the nature of any burial practice that took place here. The monument is also likely to seal evidence that can tell us more about the environment at the time of its construction.

Contextual characteristics

This cairn is a good representative of a large, general and widespread class of prehistoric burial monument. What makes it less common are two key features: the presence of a kerb containing the stone mound and, secondly, one that displays the graded positioning by size of individual stones. The layout represents specific and deliberate decisions that were made during its construction and suggests that it may have been contained by a larger, recumbent stone circle which we think would have been deliberately orientated towards the south west. These recumbent monuments are unique to NE Scotland and the cairn is probably part of this regional cluster of about 100 examples that were built for ceremonial and ritual events. It has a very distinctive position in the local landscape that includes the view of Bennachie, as with so many other prehistoric monuments here. Its proximity to the River Don reinforces what archaeologists already think is a key factor in choosing a site for these types of monument. Although views from the monument are obscured today by modern forestry, it is likely that it was intervisible with other contemporary monuments, this too being a common factor in choosing a suitable site. Excavated examples of these stone circles suggest that the cairn was a later addition and post-dates the outer stone circle. The apparent coincidence of graded stones in its perimeter (tending to the SW) and the general SW orientation of recumbent stone circles tend to support the connection between the two. It has the potential to tell us much about the wider organisation and significance of prehistoric ceremonial activity in this part of Scotland.

Associative characteristics

The monument has been the focus of antiquarian research dating back to the 1890s and these investigations have concentrated on the likelihood of the site being part of a recumbent stone circle.

The place-name evidence 'Chapel o'Sink' has its possible origins in folklore attached to the site: attempts to convert the site for Christian worship resulted in the stones periodically sinking and re-appearing, and that this was the work of the Devil.

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 nature and significance of prehistoric ceremonial events, the relationship between burial and ceremony at these types of sites and the wider connections monuments such as this had with the landscape and other contemporary monuments. It can be compared with nearby funerary monuments and others outside the region to create an understanding of regional identity and society during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age. Its loss would affect our ability to understand the wider connections between landscape, monuments and prehistoric society in this part of 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.