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

  SM6291_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600012179)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises a burnt mound, a prehistoric cooking place of probable Bronze Age date, which may conceal remains of contemporary settlement.

The mound is situated beside a stream which flows from Loch of Asta to the sea. It is a relatively large example, measuring approximately 17m across at the widest, and has an irregular oval plan. It rises to 2m high. Although the mound has clearly been dug into, perhaps for road metalling, its basal levels appear never to have been distrubed, and may contain evidence of structures associated with contemporary settlement.

Burnt mounds are the by-product of boiling by the immersion of heated stones in a trough of water, and are usually interpreted as cooking places. The area to be scheduled is circular, 30m in diameter, centred on the mound, and includes the mound itself and an area around it in which traces of structures associated with its use and accumulation may survive, as marked in red on the accompanying plan.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as a fine example of a burnt mound at the larger end of the size range for such monuments, and because it has the potential, through excavation and analysis, to provide important information about prehistoric domestic economy and diet. It may also conceal evidence relating to contemporary domestic architecture.

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.