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

  SM5916_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600011813)

Summary

Description

The monument is the remains of two unenclosed settlements. The remains lie buried beneath the ploughsoil and are visible as cropmarks captured on oblique aerial photographs. The remains comprise roundhouses and associated features dating to between 1800 BC and AD 400, but there is also evidence for sub-rectangular structures that are probably of early historic or medieval date. The monument lies between 20m and 25m OD, on a broad ridge of higher ground that rises above the Keilor Burn to the S. The site overlooks the coast about 600m to the E.

A well-defined disc-shaped cropmark towards the NW end of the E settlement area indicates a roundhouse with sunken floor. Crescent-shaped cropmarks in the W settlement area indicate two ring ditch roundhouses with partially sunken floors or erosional hollows. These features measure between 10m and 12m in diameter. There are also at least three potential roundhouses in the E area and two potential roundhouses in the W area, represented by disc- or crescent-shaped marks. Three probable sub-rectangular buildings lie in the E area. One measures about 14m by 5m within a wall trench about 1m wide. A dark internal mark about 7m long and 2m wide represents a drain or scooped floor. The other two structures are of similar width but one, to the SE, appears to measure at least 26m in length. The E area also contains a sub-rectangular enclosure or structure measuring about 13m N-S by 13m transversely, with an internal subdivision. A small ring ditch about 6m in diameter lies towards the E end of the E area and may represent the remains of a round barrow as there is no break in the ditch. Another ring ditch representing either a barrow or another small roundhouse lies towards the S of the W area.

Two areas are scheduled, both irregular on plan, to include the remains described above and areas 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 monument was first scheduled in 1994, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because of its potential to make a significant addition to knowledge and understanding of rural settlement in Scotland. It is a rare example of a site that preserves evidence for both prehistoric roundhouses and early historic or medieval sub-rectangular structures and it therefore offers high potential to compare settlement form and character over a long time period. The potential presence of round barrows among this complex of features adds to the complexity of the site. The monument's importance is enhanced by its association with the wider archaeological landscape of unenclosed settlements and enclosures in the lower Lunan Valley. This landscape forms an important concentration of evidence for social and economic change in later prehistoric and medieval Scotland. Our understanding of the distribution and character of prehistoric and later settlements would be diminished if this monument was to be lost or damaged.

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.