Scheduled Monument
Fir Hillock, burial mound 750m E of Ardblair CastleSM9612
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
- 13/02/2001
- Type
- Prehistoric ritual and funerary: barrow
- Local Authority
- Perth And Kinross
- Parish
- Blairgowrie
- NGR
- NO 17126 44514
- Coordinates
- 317126, 744514
Description
The monument comprises the remains of a prehistoric burial mound in a prominent situation on the edge of a river terrace. The mound lies in a small conifer plantation surrounded by arable.
The mound measures 16m by 13m and is 1.7m high. Round mounds of this kind are dated to the early Neolithic (around 3500 BC) or the early Bronze Age (around 2500 BC). Fir Hillock is traditionally a place of execution. There are signs of disturbance on the top of the mound. It is likely that the mound covered at least one burial and others are likely to have been dug into the surface of the mound.
The area to be scheduled is 30m in diameter, to include the mound and an area around it in which traces of activity associated with its construction and use are likely to survive, as marked in red on the attached map.
Statement of National Importance
The monument is of national importance as a little-disturbed mound surviving in an intensively farmed area. It has the potential to enhance considerably our understanding of prehistoric burial and religious practices. It is also of importance because it will seal beneath it a prehistoric land surface, which could increase our knowledge of landuse in the past.
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.
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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).
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