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

  SM12018_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014157)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises a group of four ring-ditch houses of prehistoric date. The ring-ditches (near circular ditched enclosures) are visible as upstanding features in a mature conifer plantation on a NE-facing terrace on the E flank of Bennachie. The houses are likely to date from the Late Bronze Age or Iron Age, the first or second millennium BC.

The NW house measures about 17m in diameter. Its wall is defined by a circular stony bank measuring up to 4m in thickness and 0.7m in internal height. A shallow ditch measuring about 2.7m wide runs around the inside edge of the bank. The entrance, marked by a gap in the bank, is on the east. Approximately 30m to the south lies the SW house in the group. It is oval in shape and measures about 16m in diameter. The wall is defined by a circular stony bank measuring about 3m in thickness and up to 1m in internal height. The entrance, marked by a gap in the bank, is on the east.

The NE house lies about 40m to the ENE of the first. It is scooped into the hillside and measures about 13m in diameter. Its stony bank is most clearly visible on the downslope E side, where it stands up to about 0.3m in height and about 2m wide. On the W upslope side, the edge of the house is defined by a shallow scoop into the slope. Its entrance is on the north-east. The last house lies on the SE edge of the group, about 50m to the south-east of the first. It measures about 15m in diameter and is scooped into the hillside. Its stony bank is best defined on the east and north, where is stands to a height of about 0.4m above the interior of the house. On the west and south, a shallow scoop into the slope defines the edge of the house.

The area to be scheduled is sub-rectangular on plan, to include the remains described and an area around them within which evidence relating to their construction and use may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

Cultural significance

The monument's cultural significance can be expressed as follows:

Intrinsic characteristics

The monument consists of a group of four well-preserved later prehistoric ring-ditch houses. The upland location of the hut circles and relatively low impact landuse since their construction suggests that deposits, materials and features relating to the houses' construction and use, and evidence for the prehistoric environment, are likely to survive below the surface. It is likely that archaeologically significant deposits relating to the construction, use and abandonment of the structures remain in place. The site has considerable potential to enhance understanding of later prehistoric roundhouses and the daily lives of the people who occupied them.

Contextual characteristics

The monument is a good representative of what may have once been a numerous class. The rarity of such sites in the area may be due to poor survival as a result of intensive agricultural practices since the later prehistoric period. As a group of ring-ditches, the monument has the potential to provide information on later prehistoric settlement patterns. The monument is one of a number of prehistoric settlement sites, both domestic and funerary, on this flank of Bennachie, further enhancing the value of the monument. Comparison of local architectural features in this area with those of other prehistoric roundhouses in Scotland may enhance our understanding of regional variation in later prehistoric settlement.

National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to the understanding of the past, in particular the later prehistoric period. This potential is enhanced by the relatively good preservation and its group value. Loss or damage of the monument would affect our ability to understand the development of later prehistoric architecture, society, economy in Scotland in general and the prehistory of central Strathdon in particular.

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.