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

  SM197_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600003136)

Summary

Description

The monument is a standing stone, likely to date to the third or second millennium BC. The stone is now recumbent and partially turf-covered, although it was recorded as upright in 1867. It measures up to 4.3m in length by 1.8m at its broadest part. The visible maximum thickness of the stone is 0.4m. The stone is located in a level pasture field about 50m to the S of the River Add. The monument was first scheduled in 1933, but the documentation does not meet modern standards: the present rescheduling rectifies this.

The area to be scheduled is circular on plan, measuring 10m in diameter, centered on the stone. The scheduling includes the stone described above and an area around it within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. Specifically excluded from the scheduling are the above-ground elements of a post-and-wire fence to the W and S to allow for its maintenance.

Statement of National Importance

Cultural Significance

The monument's cultural significance can be expressed as follows:

Intrinsic characteristics

Although now recumbent, the monument is in good condition and a fine example of a standing stone. There is no evidence to suggest that the stone has been moved from its original location and it is therefore highly likely that important archaeological remains survive below ground in the basal socket of the stone or in the immediate vicinity, including possibly burial deposits, artefacts and environmental material. Considerable effort would have been required to quarry, transport, position and erect a massive stone such as this, which demonstrates that this location was significant to those who erected the monolith and that the erection of standing stones was considered to be an important activity. Overall, the monument has the potential to contribute to our understanding of prehistoric society, ritual and ceremony.

Contextual characteristics

Standing stones are a widespread class of monument across Scotland, with notable concentrations in Dumfries and Galloway, the Western and Northern Isles, Perthshire, Aberdeenshire, Caithness and Argyll, where there are over 90 examples.

Single standing stones are often the surviving remains of more complex stone monuments, either as outliers to or components of stone circles or stone alignments. In Argyll, the majority of standing stones survive as single monoliths.

In many instances, standing stones appear to have been located with reference to the local topography, for example, to take advantage of route-ways or views and to be inter-visible with other broadly contemporary monuments or natural features. They are often visible from great distances, perhaps marking a significant area or territory. Many are located with reference to ritual or burial monuments, such as henges, stone circles, and cairns, indicating that they may have played a part in ceremonial or ritual activities. It has been argued that standing stones were normally sited along observation lines focused on the rising or setting points of the moon or sun on a distant horizon at key dates in the year (for example, winter solstice).

The standing stone at Dunadd is situated on the sand and gravel terraces of the River Add. The river would probably have been an important transport route at least for smaller boats, while the sandy deposits of the River Add and the Kilmartin Burn offer the only significant areas of good agricultural land in the region. As such the area has been a focus of activity since the Neolithic period. There is a dense concentration of funerary and ceremonial monuments in the Kilmartin Glen, including chambered cairns, stone circles and alignments, and cup-and-ring marked rocks. Further study of the prehistoric monuments in this rich archaeological landscape could enhance our understanding of the nature of the inter-relationships between the different types of monument and how they were used, and of the ways in which contemporary society may have used different parts of the landscape.

Associative characteristics

The Ordnance Survey 1st edition map depicts and labels the monument as 'Standing Stone'.

National Importance

This monument is of national importance as a well-preserved example of a type of ceremonial monument dating to the late Neolithic or Bronze Age. It is situated next to an important route-way and forms part of a wider landscape of prehistoric monuments particularly those which appear to have a funerary or ceremonial purpose. The monument has the potential to tell us more about social and ceremonial activities that took place here, as well as the wider belief system of the prehistoric people who used these sites. The loss of this example would significantly impede our ability to understand the nature of early prehistoric settlement, social organisation and ritual activities, both in Argyll and Scotland.

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.