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

  SM12440_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014249)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises a substantial Bronze-Age burial cairn that survives as a grass-covered mound. It is sited in an area of pasture near the crest of Temple hill, on the hill's SW face at around 100m above sea level.

The cairn measures around 24m in diameter and stands to a height of around 2m. A robber trench, possibly related to the excavation of the site in 1887 when an urn and human remains were recovered, runs from the NNE edge of the cairn into its centre. Some exposed stone is visible on the cairn, and a small corrugated iron hut has been constructed in the centre with another small corrugated iron structure on the SE arc of the cairn.

The area to be scheduled is circular on plan, centred on the mound, 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. Specifically excluded from this scheduling are the above-ground remains of the central corrugated iron hut and the corrugated iron structure on the SE arc, and the above-ground elements of the stone dyke and associated post-and-wire fence that mark the limit of the scheduled area on the S arc of the site.

Statement of National Importance

Cultural Significance

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

Intrinsic characteristics

The monument is visible as an upstanding feature, a relatively well-preserved and substantial example of a Bronze-Age cairn. Although the primary burial appears to have been previously excavated, similar monuments have revealed more than one burial beneath the cairn. The cairn is also likely to seal a buried land surface and this could provide evidence of the environment during the Bronze Age when the monument was constructed and used. The monument has the potential to further our understanding of Bronze-Age funerary practice as well as inform our knowledge of the structural features of large burial monuments.

Contextual characteristics

This monument belongs to a diverse group of around 165 surviving Bronze-Age burial cairns in the Strathdon area. Seventy-one of these have now been completely removed, the rest, including this example, surviving as visible and upstanding monuments to varying degrees. The location of such sites was extremely important, and this particular example has wide views of the surrounding landscape in all directions, including Bennachie to the west, a common feature of prehistoric sites in the area. Bennachie is also a significant prehistoric landscape in its own right. A second cairn, known now as Donald's Hillock, also survives nearby, around 800m south-west of Mote Hill. Spatial analysis of this cairn and other burial sites may further our understanding of funerary site location, the structure of society and the Bronze-Age economy.

Associative characteristics

Local tradition names the site as 'Roman Camp'.

National Importance

This monument is of national importance because it has the potential to contribute to an understanding of the past, in particular Bronze-Age burial architecture and practice in Scotland. It also fits into a distinctive pattern of prehistoric burial and settlement in the Strathdon area. Skeletal remains and artefacts from such burials have the potential to tell us about wider prehistoric society, how people lived, where they came from and who they had contact with. The old ground surface sealed by the monument can provide information about what the contemporary environment looked like and how the prehistoric people who interred their dead here managed the surrounding land. Its loss would impede our ability to understand the placing of such monuments within the landscape, as well as our knowledge of Bronze-Age social structure and 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.