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

  SM8644_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600013387)

Summary

Description

The monument is a setting of pits, which probably represent the holes in which timber posts were set, appearing as a cropmark in an arable field.

The monument consists of two parallel lines of at least 5 pits, about 8m apart, aligned NW-SE. The NW end appears to be closed by at least one, and possibly two pits, and a further pit appears to lie on the axis of the monument near the NW end.

The setting is about 20m long, although its SE end is slightly obscured by a modern field boundary. The features are strikingly similar to settings excavated elsewhere in Perthshire and Fife, which excavation has shown to be Neolithic ceremonial enclosures, around 5000 to 4500 years old.

The area to be scheduled is circular and measures 50m in diameter, to include the monument visible on the aerial photographs and an area around it in which features associated with its construction and use are likely to survive, as marked in red on the attached map extract.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as a probably member of a very small group of Neolithic ceremonial enclosures, which seem to be found only in Perthshire and Fife. The monument has the potential to enhance considerably our understanding of ritual and burial activity in the Neolithic of eastern Scotland. The monument is of particular importance because of the presence near Fortingall of ceremonial and burial monuments of the Neolithic and Bronze Age.

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.