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

  SM13441_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014507)

Summary

Description

The monument is an enclosure, very probably a henge (a ritual and ceremonial monument), dating to the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age (the late third or early second millennium BC). It survives as a circular enclosure measuring approximately 60m in diameter in total, defined by an inner bank, an outer ditch and an intermittent outer bank. The inner bank is 3m wide and survives to a height of 0.3-0.6m. It encloses an internal area measuring 45m WNW-ESE by 40m transversely. No entrances are visible. The ditch varies in width from 1.5m in the SW to around 13m in the ENE. On the E and NE sides, the ditch is water-filled and forms a series of ponds which may be a product of later re-working. The outer bank is 2m-5m in width. It is most visible around the southern part of the enclosure and fades out on the E side. The monument is situated on the low-lying hilltop of Staney Hill at 50m above OD, with views to the SW over the Lochs of Harray and Stenness and towards the Ring of Brodgar. The W side of the monument has been bisected by a minor public road.

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 top 30cm of the road surface and the above-ground elements of an electricity pole and all post-and-wire fences to allow for their routine maintenance.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it has inherent potential to make a significant contribution to our understanding of the past, particularly the design and construction of ritual and ceremonial monuments and the nature of belief systems in late Neolithic and early Bronze Age Orkney. Staney Hill is one of only four certain or potential henges recorded in Orkney, all of them located close to the Lochs of Harray and Stenness and within an area internationally recognised for its outstanding heritage of Neolithic monuments. Although no evidence of an entrance or causeway is visible on the ground surface, the bank and ditch features at Staney Hill are characteristic of henge sites - and show particularly clearly on aerial photographs. Given the absence of recorded antiquarian or modern archaeological investigation, there is significant potential for the monument to preserve buried archaeology in the interior and in the ditch and banks. Henges are rare across Scotland and provide a unique and important source of evidence for human belief and ritual activities during early prehistory. The loss of the monument would significantly diminish our ability to appreciate and understand the meaning and importance of ritual and ceremony in prehistoric times and the placing of such monuments within the landscape.

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.