Statement of National Importance
The national importance of the monument is demonstrated in the following way(s) (see Designations Policy and Selection Guidance, Annex 1, para 17):
a. The monument is of national importance because it makes a significant contribution to our understanding or appreciation of the past or has the potential to do so. This henge is an important indicator of prehistoric activity in this region of Scotland, during the late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age periods. The monument can help us understand more about prehistoric society and the nature of ceremony, ritual and belief systems.
b. The monument retains structural attributes which make a significant contribution to our understanding or appreciation of the past. The monument survives as an earthwork structure. There is good potential for the survival of archaeological and environmental evidence within the ditch fills and in the interior and exterior areas of the monument. The monument can significantly add to our understanding of the meaning and importance of ritual in the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age periods.
c. The monument is a rare example of a henge with a continuous outer bank. This may indicate modification of the monument in prehistory.
d. The monument is a particularly good example of a henge monument and is therefore an important representative of this monument type.
e. The monument has research potential which could significantly contribute to our understanding of the past. It can tell us about the character, development and use of ritual sites, and the nature of prehistoric society, economy, social hierarchy and burial in this area of Scotland and further afield. Further research and investigation of the surviving buried remains have the potential to explain the precise chronology of this monument. Such a chronological explanation may help to inform our understanding of the development of similar prehistoric sites across Scotland.
f. The monument makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the prehistoric landscape as a component of a larger complex of related, contemporary sites, reflecting settlement, agriculture, commemoration and ritual activity around the Beauly and Cromarty Firths.
Assessment of Cultural Significance
This statement of national importance has been informed by the following assessment of cultural significance:
Intrinsic characteristics (how the remains of a site or place contribute to our knowledge of the past)
The monument survives as a low, broadly circular, earthwork with an entrance causeway across the ditch. The surrounding bank is continuous with no evidence of an accompanying entrance gap. This could be due to the extension of the bank to block the entrance, thereby indicating modification of the monument in prehistory. During the 19th century 'a few empty earthen jars' were reportedly found within the henge, which may suggest the presence of burials. The New Statistical Account also describes the monument as 'a circle formed of stone'. As the surviving monument is composed of earth, it is unclear what this refers to but could indicate the former presence of standing stones.
Henge monuments are typically circular or sub-circular on plan defined by an external bank and internal ditch arrangement. Dating evidence indicates they were built during the late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age and they often had long development sequences, with multiple phases of use. They are sites of ritual significance and typically provide evidence of prehistoric ceremonial practices. Archaeological investigation of these types of monuments has confirmed that significant archaeological and environmental evidence can survive in the buried layers – deposits and artefacts such as pottery, flints and animal bone as well as botanical remains create an important overall assemblage.
There is, therefore, the potential for the survival of evidence for the form, function, development, modification and use of this ritual site over time, as well as environmental evidence that will aid the reconstruction of what the local area looked like when the monument was built and in use. The monument and associated archaeological deposits can help us understand much about prehistoric life - the lives, contacts, beliefs and practices of the people who built and used it, the events and ceremonies that took place here, and the phases of its use and re-use. Study of the monument's form and construction process compared with similar monuments would enhance our understanding of the development sequence of this site and the class of monument in general.
Contextual characteristics (how a site or place relates to its surroundings and/or to our existing knowledge of the past)
The monument belongs to a group of prehistoric ceremonial monuments which have been variously classed as henges, mini henges, henge monuments and hengi-form monuments. Researchers have indicated the difficulties in these over-simplified terms. However, the general use of the term 'henge' remains helpful in distinguishing a monument whose primary purpose was for ceremonial and ritual events as opposed to settlement / domestic / agricultural or similar activity.
Henges are a rare monument type, with around 90 henges known in Scotland. While many are located in fertile agricultural land and survive as buried features, visible as cropmarks on aerial imagery, this example is an upstanding field monument, adding to its significance. The known distribution of these monuments is generally in southern, eastern and northern Scotland, although further examples are known in Argyll, Skye and Orkney. This example is part of a wide group of 11 such monuments located north of the Beauly Firth and, more locally, one of six henges lying between the Beauly and Cromarty Firths including, including Knockfarrel (scheduled monument reference SM13745, Canmore reference 374610), Culbokie (scheduled monument reference SM1668, Canmore ID 12776), Conon Bridge (scheduled monument reference SM1666, Canmore ID 12781), Logieside (scheduled monument reference SM3403, Canmore ID 12843) and Castle Hill, Muir of Ord (scheduled monument reference SM1665, Canmore ID 12670).
The clustering of this local group signifies a concentration of activity in the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. Their relative proximity to each other can give an insight into the broader contemporary landscape during prehistory, the social organisation of communities and their activities and the division of land. Researchers indicate that the positioning of these monuments is carefully planned to take advantage of natural features, routeways, views and natural resources. This example is positioned in a wet, low-lying location, close to Loch Achilty.
Associative characteristics (how a site or place relates to people, events, and/or historic and social movements)
There are no known associative characteristics that contribute to this monument's national importance.