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

  SM1318_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600004076)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of a burial mound or barrow dating probably to the Bronze Age (between approximately 2000 BC and 800 BC). It is visible as a roughly circular, grass-covered earthen mound, measuring approximately 13m E-W by 12m transversely and standing to a height of 1.1m. The monument is located on hill pasture land at approximately 80m above sea level, on the SW slope of Hundland Hill, overlooking the Loch of Hundland and with long views to the W and SW. The monument was first scheduled in 1940, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

The scheduled area is circular on plan, 24m in diameter, 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 a post-and-wire fence crossing the SE edge of the mound to allow for its 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. The burial mound retains its field characteristics to a marked degree, despite some antiquarian investigation (before 1880), which exposed a cist containing human bone and ashes. We know from recent excavations at similar sites that these monuments normally contain important artefactual and environmental information about their construction and use. Earthen barrows form an important and relatively widespread element of Orkney's Bronze Age landscape. 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. They provide evidence for the significant changes which took place in society and funerary practice in the Bronze Age in Orkney. The significance of this example is enhanced by its location in an area rich in burial mounds and other types of broadly contemporary monument, including some with which it is intervisible. 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.