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

  SM3577_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600009634)

Summary

Description

The monument consists of the remains of a prehistoric house and an associated enclosure wall, cutting off a promontory on the W side of Punds Water.

The house is very substantially constructed, and measures about 11m in overall diameter. Internally it has a central area flanked by 4 large and 1 small recesses, possibly bed-niches. Entrance is by a narrow passage, which opens from a paved external courtyard. The careful construction of the house, and the plan (especially its concave facade) suggests a link with the architecture of chambered burial cairns, especially the fine example nearby. The house lies 40m outside an enclosure, formed by a wall of large boulders which cuts off a promontory projecting into the loch. As both the house and the enclosure wall are founded below the deep peat which covers the area, they may be broadly contemporary. The site is most probably a late Neolithic farmstead, with the enclosure serving to enfold stock.

The area to be scheduled is the entire promontory, bounded by the loch and by a curving line drawn between the heads of the loch's two SW inlets and passing 30m to the W of the house. The large area so defined includes the house and enclosure wall and an area of land in which deep peat almost certainly conceals further evidence of contemporary structures. The area to be scheduled is marked in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as a fine example of a prehistoric house and enclosure, but also because the surviving peat cover around the visible remains holds out the prospect of excellent preservation of further remains often associated with such houses. In addition the surfaces sealed below the peat and the house walls will contain important information relating to contemporary land use, while the peat itself affords the possibility of dating the sequence of peat growth and the abandonment of upland settlement in this area.

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.