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

  SM1315_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600004073)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of six barrows dating probably from the Bronze Age (between around 2000 and 800 BC). The barrows are visible as two groups of low, roughly circular, turf-covered mounds. The NW group originally comprised at least two barrows, but only one is visible today, measuring about 20m in diameter and standing 0.7m high. This barrow was partly excavated in 1922 and contained a stone-lined pit and a cist without a cover stone. The SE group comprises five barrows, four of them arranged in a row aligned W-E, with an outlier 50m to the NE. One of the barrows in the row of four is notably larger than the rest, measuring 15m in diameter and standing 1.5m high. The other barrows range in diameter from approximately 6m to 9m, and in height from 0.3m to 0.5m. Four of the SE group of mounds were partly investigated in 1902-3 and found to be built primarily of earth and small stones. A short cist found in the SE side of the largest mound contained fragments of bone and ashes. A 'cavity' or pit in the adjacent mound to the E held a complete steatite urn, embedded in ash, containing burnt bones. Ash, fragments of bone and charred wood were also recorded from the other mounds examined. The monument is situated on a broad ridge at around 65m OD with excellent views towards the Loch of Harray. The monument was first scheduled in 1937, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present rescheduling rectifies this.

The scheduling comprises two separate areas. The first is circular in plan, 30m in diameter, centred on the centre of the surviving barrow to the NW. The second is rectangular in plan, measuring 120m WSW-ENE by 55m transversely, to include the five barrows in the SE group. The scheduled areas include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the construction, use and abandonment of the barrows is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground elements of all post-and-wire fences and the top 30cm of the track to allow for their maintenance.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because of its inherent potential to contribute to our understanding of the dating, form, function and distribution of Bronze Age barrows and barrow cemeteries in Orkney, as well as changes in burial practice and society in the Bronze Age. Earthen barrows form an important and relatively widespread element of Orkney's prehistoric landscape. Orkney's barrows are unusual in Scotland, and important within a British context, because the majority are mainly earthen mounds as opposed to stone-built cairns. Despite minor excavations in the early 20th century, the Knowes of Trinnawin retain high potential to preserve human burials and, possibly, evidence of mortuary structures, funeral pyres and related activities, as has been discovered at similar sites elsewhere in Orkney. The significance of the surviving barrows at Knowes of Trinnawin is enhanced by their association with other barrows nearby and their place in the wider landscape. The Harray area is exceptionally rich in Bronze Age burial monuments, including an impressive barrow cemetery at Knowes o' Trotty about 1.6km to the SE, and another barrow cemetery at Hollands, about 2km to the NW. Our understanding of prehistoric ritual and burial practices in Orkney and across Scotland 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.