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

  SM12172_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014194)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises a burial cairn dating to the Bronze Age. It survives as a mound and surrounding circular ditch with several stones exposed where they are not covered by rough grass or gorse. These types of cairns were built and used as individual or group burial monuments and generally contained one or more central burials. It is located on a gentle, N-facing slope at 240m above sea level and below the low summit of Hill of Rothmaise. It has extensive views southwards towards the River Don and the hill range called Bennachie, westwards towards the hills at Foudland and eastwards over the low-lying Strathdon floodplain.

The cairn is roughly circular in shape, 23m in diameter and approximately 2m high from the bottom of the ditch to the top of the mound. Several gaps and sunken areas are visible where the cairn has been quarried for stone material. The most obvious of these is in the centre of the cairn, where burials are usually found. The ditch that surrounds the cairn is best seen on the N side and is approximately 0.5m deep.

The area to be scheduled is circular on plan, centred on the centre of the cairn, to include the remains described and an area around within which evidence relating to its 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 is well preserved and retains much of its key structural detail, including a large turf-covered stone mound and surrounding ditch. It is possible that a burial or burials survive underneath the structure of the cairn, despite the intrusion of later isolated quarrying activity. The cairn is likely to seal a buried land surface and this could provide evidence of the environment during the Bronze Age when the monument was built and used. Overall, it has the potential to further our understanding of Bronze-Age funerary practice, as well as inform our knowledge of the structural features of this type of cairn.

Contextual characteristics

This monument belongs to a diverse group of over 150 surviving Bronze-Age burial cairns in the Strathdon area. It is part of a much larger contemporary burial tradition that covers much of Scotland. Monuments like this across Strathdon share aspects of the same construction style, use and relative position in the landscape. Black Cairn is a significant example because of the ditch that surrounds it. Like other examples it has an important position in the landscape that ensures views to and from it, including a clear view of the dominant Bennachie hill range. Spatial analysis of this and similar burial monuments can further our understanding of funerary site location, the structure of society, and the Bronze-Age economy.

National Importance

This monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to contribute to an understanding of the past, in particular Bronze-Age burial architecture and practice. It is part of the evidence for the wider prehistoric settlement of Strathdon and can tell us much about how the people who lived here during the Bronze Age dealt with and commemorated their dead. The preservation of a buried land surface beneath the cairn can help us understand more about the surrounding environment when the cairn was built and used. The loss of the monument would affect our future ability to appreciate and understand the prehistoric landscape and its inhabitants.

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.