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

  SM10581_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600013715)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises a dun, or small drystone fort, of later prehistoric date.

The monument lies on the SW end of a coastal promontory about 190m NNE of the headland known as Dun Haunn. The summit of the rocky boss occupied by the dun rises only 5.5m above the level of the promontory on the NE, but it is protected on all other sides by sheer or overhanging cliffs some 40m high.

The dun measures 10.5m by about 7.5m within a drystone wall drawn around the margin of the summit area. No trace of the wall survives on the W, where it has presumably collapsed over the edge of the cliff, but elsewhere it appears as a grass-grown band of stones, in which several stretches of outer facing-stones can be seen.

The site of the entrance may be indicated by the slight depression in the wall core on the E, near the head of a natural inclined ramp that gives relatively easy access to the summit from the promontory. Additional protection has been provided by two outer walls.

The first, now largely reduced to a scatter of core material and partly overlain by a recent boundary wall, follows the outer edge of the ramp already mentioned; after a short gap, probably the site of an original entrance, it continues towards the edge of the cliffs on the SE side of the promontory.

The second, surviving as a stony scarp 1.4 m high in which a few massive outer facing-stones are still visible, has been drawn in an irregular arc from the cliff edge N of the dun to the base of the rocky boss. Immediately outside the second outwork there are the remains of a sub-rectangular enclosure of recent date.

The area proposed for scheduling comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related material may be expected to survive. It is circular in shape with a diameter of 40m, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because of its potential to contribute to an understanding of later prehistoric defended settlement and economy. Its importance is increased by its proximity to other monuments of potentially contemporary date, for example, the fort 450m to the south.

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.