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

  SM1276_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600004034)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of at least nine burial mounds forming a barrow cemetery dating probably to the Bronze Age (between about 2000 and 800 BC). Only three mounds are visible on the ground surface today, but eight were depicted on the Ordnance Survey first edition and nine were recorded by RCAHMS in 1946. All the mounds were roughly circular on plan and seven formed an arc around the W side of the largest mound in the group. Of the three upstanding mounds, the northernmost is 11m in diameter and stands 1.2m high; the central mound 4m to the SSE measures 15m in diameter and stands 2.2m high; and the southernmost mound, 25m to the S, is 6m in overall diameter and much lower at 0.4m high. The other recorded mounds are likely to survive as buried deposits and, by analogy with other barrow cemeteries, the remains of funerary pyres, shelters and cremation pits may survive around and between the mounds. Previous investigations have unearthed at least one cist. Part of the monument was built over during the Second World War to accommodate defences associated with the airfield. The monument is located within an enclosed paddock at approximately 45m above sea level, overlooking lower land to the NE and Inganess Bay beyond. The monument was first scheduled in 1940, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

The scheduled area is irregular on plan to include 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, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground elements of post-and-wire fencing, gates and the top 30cm of a metalled track to allow for their maintenance.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because of its potential to make a significant addition to our understanding of funerary practice in the Bronze Age. Earthen barrows form an important and relatively widespread element of Orkney's Bronze Age landscape. Despite previous disturbances to the site, three of the mounds survive to a marked degree and, by analogy with other excavated barrow cemeteries, important archaeological deposits, including burials, are highly likely to survive below ground. Barrows provide evidence for the significant changes which took place in society and funerary practice in the Bronze Age; and Orkney's barrows are unusual in Scotland, and important within a British context, because the majority are earthen mounds as opposed to stone-built cairns. Our understanding of the form, function and distribution of Bronze Age barrows would be diminished if this monument was to be lost or damaged.

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.