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

  SM227_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600003164)

Summary

Description

The monument is a cairn of the Neolithic or Bronze Age, built some time between 4000 and 1000 BC. It is visible as a low, sub-circular, mainly turf-covered mound of boulders, measuring about 22m ENE-WSW by 18m transversely and standing up to 1m high. Near the centre of the cairn is a large capstone, measuring 1.75m by 1.3m by 0.15m thick. This covers a hollow, defined along its SE edge by a slab about 1.7m long and 0.15 m thick; below the capstone on the NW is a possible fallen side-slab. A shallow depression occurs about 4m SW of the capstone, with an orthostat visible at its N end, indicating the presence of a second possible cist or chamber. The cairn stands on a rocky knoll at 100m above sea level. 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, 42m in diameter, centred on the centre of the cairn. The scheduling includes the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

Cultural Significance

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

Intrinsic characteristics

The excavation of similar cairns elsewhere in Scotland has demonstrated that they were often used to cover and mark human burials. They are normally late Neolithic or Bronze Age in origin, dating most commonly from the late third millennium BC to the early second millennium BC. The cairn at Rhudil Mill has been disturbed in the past, leaving the edges of the monument poorly defined and the cists empty. However, enough of the cairn remains in situ to suggest that important archaeological information is likely to survive below ground.

It is possible that further burials may be present, particularly as archaeologists often find burials away from the centres of cairns. Burial cairns of this date may incorporate or overlie several graves or pits containing cist settings, skeletal remains in the form of cremations or inhumations, pottery and stone tools. These deposits can help us understand more about the practice and significance of burial and commemoration of the dead at specific times in prehistory. They may also help us to understand the changing structure of society in the area. In addition, the cairn is likely to overlie and seal a buried land surface that could provide evidence of the environment when the monument was built. Botanical remains, including pollen or charred plant material, may survive within archaeological deposits deriving from the cairn's construction and use. This evidence can help to build up a picture of climate, vegetation and agriculture in the area before and during construction and use of the cairn.

Contextual characteristics

Across Scotland, cairns are often inter-visible and sometimes seem to be positioned specifically to maximise their visual impact. Many cairns are known in Argyll, with particular clusters in South Kintyre, Mid Argyll, Lorne and in the W and S of Islay. They are usually located on low ground in valleys and on the edges of higher ground, close to important route ways. Argyll cairns are often components of a ritual landscape created over many centuries, demonstrating the re-use and veneration of earlier foci of ritual activity. Clusters of cairns may point to areas of the landscape where power and wealth was concentrated, perhaps generated in part through control of trade and exchange. Cairns have additional importance as they are the most prominent remains of early societies, whose domestic houses, farms and field systems have so far proved difficult to identify in the archaeological record.

The cairn at Rhudil Mill is situated on a terrace of higher ground running along the E side of the valley overlooking the Rhudil Burn. The cairn was built in a prominent position with good views through the valley and would also have been visible from the route ways through the glen. It is inter-visible with a chambered cairn at Baroile, which is situated only 250m to the NE on the same terrace. This area is exceptionally rich in prehistoric monuments, including further cairns and rock art along the sides of the valley. The positioning of this cairn in relation to other nearby monuments of broadly contemporary date, and especially to that of the cairn at Baroile, is likely to be significant and merits future detailed analysis. Further study of the monuments in this prehistoric landscape could enhance our understanding of ritual and funerary site location and practice. It could also provide further insights into the structure and organisation of early prehistoric society and economy.

National Importance

This monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to our understanding of the past, particularly the design and construction of burial monuments, the nature of burial practices, and their significance in prehistoric and later society. Buried evidence from cairns can also enhance our knowledge about the communities living here, where they came from and who they had contact with. This monument is particularly valuable because it lies in a rich archaeological landscape where there is a variety of prehistoric monuments, including rock art and other cairns. The loss of the monument would significantly diminish our future ability to appreciate and understand the placing of such monuments within the landscape and the meaning and importance of death and burial in prehistoric life.

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.