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

  SM12137_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014186)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises a rectilinear enclosure, with some evidence for a second similar enclosure slightly offset from the first. The monument is of likely late-prehistoric or early-historic date, surviving as a buried, cropmarked feature and visible on aerial photographs. It lies on the S slope of an unnamed hill at around 120m above sea level, in an area of cultivated land. The enclosure lies around 700m west of the Law and around 800m north-north-west of the approximate centre of the Roman camp at Logie Durno.

The enclosure measures around 80m ENE-WSW by around 60m transversely within a ditch of around 2m width. Entrances are visible midway along the N and S sides of the enclosure. A possible second enclosure of similar dimensions and layout but offset around 15m to the north-west from the first is visible on some aerial photographs. No internal features are readily apparent within the enclosures, aside from the presence of some furrow marks, widely spaced and aligned NNW-SSE. The relationship of these furrows to the enclosure is unknown, but likely to be much later.

The area to be scheduled is rectangular on plan, to include the remains described and an area around them within which related material may be expected to be found, 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 survives as a negative feature clearly visible on aerial photographs. The potential for survival of buried deposits on the site is extremely high as the land is currently used for grassland and does not appear to have been ploughed in recent times. The monument has good potential to reveal information about the later prehistoric or early-historic domestic and/or ritual activities of the area. The possible evidence for multiple phases of construction and occupation on the site presents the opportunity to assess the transition between two similar monuments on the same site and the relationship between the two phases.

Contextual characteristics

This monument belongs to a previously common group of enclosures that are now very rare in the Strathdon region. This rarity makes it difficult to establish a coherent pattern or classification for these remains in the area and underlines the value of any surviving examples. This particular example is located on a hill with good views in all directions, suggesting a possible defensive purpose. This monument is in fact unique in form in the area and its location may indicate connections with a Pictish stone found in an adjacent field in the 1950s and/or with the Roman temporary camp at Durno, which lies in close proximity. Further study of the site may give more evidence for the nature of any associations.

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 enclosures and settlement patterns from the late prehistoric/early-historic period. Buried deposits from such sites have the potential to tell us not only about the physical layout of this site but also about wider society at the time, how people lived, where they came from and who they had contact with. The loss of the monument would affect our future ability to interpret and understand a rare type of monument for this area, its use, the placing of such sites within the contemporary landscape and the social and economic situation at the time.

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.