Scheduled Monument

Braes of Rinyo, settlement 180m NE of Bigland, RousaySM2292

Status: Designated

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.

Summary

Date Added
06/02/1963
Last Date Amended
29/09/2014
Type
Prehistoric domestic and defensive: settlement (if not assigned to any more specific type)
Local Authority
Orkney Islands
Parish
Rousay And Egilsay
NGR
HY 43950 32230
Coordinates
343950, 1032230

Description

The monument comprises the remains of a prehistoric settlement, dating to the Neolithic period (between around 3500 and 2500 BC). The site is visible as an area of uneven turf-covered ground, with a 15m stretch of exposed stone structures visible along a boundary fence line. Excavation by Grant and Childe during the 1930s and 1940s revealed an extensive Neolithic settlement comprising at least seven cellular houses of drystone construction, architecturally similar to those at Skara Brae. The houses, some of which were superimposed, had central hearths and stone furniture, including beds and dressers, and there was also evidence for drainage. Most of the settlement is no longer visible above ground, but geophysical survey in 2010 identified the presence of in situ surviving structures and indicated that the settlement extends over an area of around 2,000 square metres. The settlement is situated at around 25m above sea level on a terrace on the southern slopes of Faraclett Head, NE Rousay, overlooking Rousay Sound around 1km to the SE. The monument was first scheduled in 1963, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

The scheduled area is irregular in 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 above-ground elements of a modern boundary fence near the eastern edge of the site.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as a particularly significant Neolithic settlement with the inherent potential to add greatly to our understanding of prehistoric settlement, land-use and agriculture in Orkney. It is an excellent example of its class and is hugely significant for its contribution towards Neolithic studies in Britain. Its discovery and excavation by Childe and Grant has contributed greatly to our understanding of the settlement pattern, land-use and division, economy, organisation and complexity of Scotland's first farming society. The monument survives in good condition mainly below ground, but with significant parts of the structures excavated by Grant and Childe still visible through the turf cover. Geophysical survey has indicated the likely presence of additional structures and deposits over a larger area than previously known, which suggests the site still has much to contribute towards our understanding of Neolithic society, architecture, trade and exchange contacts, the agricultural and economic basis of Neolithic settlement, and how these may have changed over time. Its significance is enhanced because it is the only known example of Neolithic settlement in Rousay and because of its possible association with a number of chambered cairns nearby. The site therefore offers the opportunity to study the relationship between Neolithic settlement and funerary monuments, and their meaning and significance within the landscape. The loss of the monument would significantly impede our ability to appreciate and understand the prehistory of Orkney and Scotland.

References

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as HY43 SW 20.

References

Armit, I 1996, The archaeology of Skye and the Western Isles, Edinburgh,

94, 108, 115.

Barclay, G J 1996, 'Neolithic buildings in Scotland', in Darvill, T and Thomas, J, Neolithic houses in northwest Europe and beyond, Neolithic Studies Group seminar papers 1, Oxbow monograph 57, Oxford, 61-76.

Barclay, G J 2003, 'The Neolithic', in Edwards, K J and Ralston, I B M, Scotland after the Ice Age: environment, archaeology and history 8000 BC - AD 1000, Edinburgh, 148.

Childe, V G and Grant, W G 1939, 'A Stone-Age settlement at the Braes of Rinyo, Rousay, Orkney. (First Report)', Proc Soc Antiq Scot 78, 6-31.

Childe, V G and Grant, W G 1949, 'A Stone-Age settlement at the Braes of Rinyo, Rousay, Orkney', Proc Soc Antiq Scot 81, 16-42.

Clarke, D V, Cowie, T G and Foxon, A 1985, Symbols of power at the time of Stonehenge, Edinburgh, 26, 58, 62, 92.

Feachem, R 1963, A guide to prehistoric Scotland, London, 29.

Kinnes, I 1987, 'Circumstances not context: the Neolithic of Scotland as seen from outside', Proc Soc Antiq Scot 115, 50, no 119.

Mainland and Moore, I and J 2010, 'Rinyo, Orkney (Rousay and Egilsay parish), geophysical survey', Discovery Excav Scot (new) 11, 121.

RCAHMS 1946, The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Twelfth report with an inventory of the ancient monuments of Orkney and Shetland, 3v, Edinburgh, 227, no 609; appendix, 362, no 4.

RCAHMS 1982d, The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The archaeological sites and monuments of Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre, Orkney Islands Area, The archaeological sites and monuments of Scotland series 16, Edinburgh, 23, no 81.

Ralston, I 2009, 'Gordon Childe and Scottish Archaeology: The Edinburgh Years 1927-1946', European J Archaeol 12, 74.

Renfrew, A C 1979, Investigations in Orkney, Society of Antiquaries of London, Research Report 38, London, 4, 72, 77-81, 82, 201, 206, 208, 216, 220.

Renfrew, C, Harkness, D and Switsur, R 1976, 'Quanterness, radiocarbon and the Orkney cairns', Antiquity 50, 198-204.

Richards, C 1992, 'Excavations at Skara Brae and Rinyo: research and redemption', Proc Soc Antiq Scot 121, 452-4.

Ritchie, G and Ritchie, A 1981, Scotland: archaeology and early history, Ancient peoples and places, London, 42-3.

Topping, P 1996, 'Structure and ritual in the Neolithic house: some examples from Britain and Ireland', in Darvill, T and Thomas, J, Neolithic houses in northwest Europe and beyond, Neolithic Studies Group seminar papers 1, Oxbow monograph 57, Oxford, 157-70.

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.

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Printed: 29/07/2025 06:40