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

  SM146_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600003093)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises a Pictish symbol stone and a cairn of Pictish or earlier date. The monument was first scheduled in 1923, and rescheduled in 1935, but an inadequate area was included to protect all of the archaeological remains. The present rescheduling is intended to rectify this.

The monument is situated in a stone-walled roadside enclosure at the side of an arable field, at around 140m OD, and commands extensive views across Strathmore. It consists of a cairn measuring approximately 13m in diameter and about 0.7m high, surmounted by a Pictish symbol stone. Early excavations revealed the remains of multiple burials in cists dug into the cairn, and it may be expected that more will remain within and below the cairn.

The stone is set upright in a relatively modern socket-stone at the summit of the cairn, although there is no reason to believe that it has been moved any distance from its original position. It measures some 2m high by about 1.8m in girth. Incised into one of the faces of the stone are a number of Pictish symbols, including a wolf, a 'double-disc and Z-rod', and a double circle.

The symbol stone dates to around the seventh or eighth century AD, while the burial cairn may have been originally constructed as early as the Neolithic period, between around 3000-2000 BC.

The area proposed for scheduling comprises the area within the walled enclosure. It is irregular in shape with maximum dimensions of 38m from its E-most point to its W-most point and 10m transversely. The stone wall is itself excluded from the scheduling.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because of its potential to contribute to our understanding of Pictish art and prehistoric funerary and ritual practices.

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.