Documents

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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

  SM5594_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600011492)

Summary

Description

Aerial photography has produced cropmarks which reveal the ditches of a fort cutting off the SE approach to the steep-sided promontory that forms the W end of the cliffs known as Heads of Ayr.

The ditches are about 3m broad and are set 20m apart, cutting off an area measuring 80m from NW to SE by 60m transversely. The enclosed area is largely improved pasture and there is no indication of the fort on the ground except the N end of the outer ditch, which is visible on the cliff edge; the NW end of the enclosed area is rocky and cut off by a natural gully.

In 1931 a fragment of dark-coloured pottery (date unknown) from the Heads of Ayr was donated to the NMS. The area to be scheduled is irregular on plan and measures 150m from NW to SE by 115m transversely, to include the fort and an area around in which associated remains may survive, as indicated in red on the attached map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it is a rare example of a coastal fort in Kyle and Carrick, although a similar fort (but with four ditches) also known from aerial photographs, is located 2.75 km to the E at Greenan Castle. The date of both of these forts is unknown, but they can be presumed to date to the first millennium BC, possibly AD. This fort therefore has the potential to provide information about the nature and structure of later prehistoric society, about which little is known in this area of 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.