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

  SM1273_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600004031)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of a burnt mound, dating probably to the Bronze Age (between about 2000 and 800 BC). It survives as a substantial crescent-shaped grass-covered mound, now measuring approximately 16m by 10m and standing around 1.2m high. In 1935, the RCAHMS surveyors suggested that it had had minimum dimensions of 23m by 20m and stood almost 2m high. The mound opens to the SE side, where there is a partly visible stone setting, possibly the remains of a tank or trough. The W side of the mound was dug into by the farmer at Hawell in the 1930s. This exposed a series of small stone-built compartments, with walls 4-5 courses high, and, some 2.3m to the E, a well-built stone tank with clay-luted corners. During his diggings, the farmer recovered numerous 'rude stone implements' and the bones of a young ox. The mound itself is composed mainly of accumulated burnt and cracked stones and other burnt material, and lies very close to a small burn. According to the first edition Ordnance Survey map, there may have been two mounds originally, but only one was visible by 1964. Overall the monument is in reasonable condition and retains much of its original form, despite the effects of earlier investigations. The monument is situated on low-lying improved pasture overlooking Deer Sound to the E, at around 25m above sea level. The monument was originally scheduled in 1938, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

The scheduled area is circular on plan, measuring 35m in diameter, as shown in red on the accompanying map. It includes the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive. The above-ground elements of a modern water tank to the W and a well to the N are specifically excluded from the scheduling to allow for their maintenance.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to contribute to our understanding of the past, in particular, the dating, form and function of burnt mounds and their placing within the landscape. This is a reasonably well-preserved example of its type and its proximity to a range of other prehistoric monuments in the vicinity gives it added potential to enhance our understanding of burnt mounds as components of the wider prehistoric landscape in Orkney. The loss of this monument would impede our ability to understand the origins, function and development of burnt mounds and the nature of later prehistoric society and economy in Orkney.

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.