Scheduled Monument
Gress Cemetery,souterrainSM5740
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
- 05/10/1993
- Supplementary Information Updated
- 31/07/2023
- Type
- Prehistoric domestic and defensive: souterrain, earth-house
- Local Authority
- Na h-Eileanan Siar
- Planning Authority
- Na h-Eileanan Siar
- Parish
- Stornoway
- NGR
- NB 49088 41543
- Coordinates
- 149088, 941543
Description
The monument consists of the remains of a souterrain, an Iron Age storehouse, situated beneath the roadside verge between the old and new courses of the B895 public road immediately to the E of Gress Cemetery.
The souterrain was discovered during roadworks in 1983. It consists of a narrow lintelled passage which branches part-way along its length. One branch of the passage runs NW, back under the old road and the adjacent cemetery, and is filled with deposits of probable mid-Iron Age date. The other branch, which runs WSW, was mainly empty upon discovery, and has been somewhat disturbed.
The open portion of the site has now been covered with sand, upon which grass has grown, and the passages are not accessible. The area to be scheduled comprises the NW portion of the grassed area between the old and new courses of the road, and measures a maximum of 70m NE-SW by 12.5m NW-SE, as marked in red on the accompanying plan.
Statement of National Importance
The monument is of national importance as a souterrain of Iron Age date which may contain undisturbed prehistoric deposits. It has the potential to provide information about Iron Age settlement and economy. Its importance is enhanced by its membership of a small group of adjacent souterrains of complex plan.
References
Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation
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.
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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.