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

  Legal Documents for Standing stone, 60m WNW of Ferneybrae Croft (SM12415)

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600035842)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises a single standing stone likely to date to the late Neolithic (3500BC-2500BC) or Bronze Age (2500BC-800BC). It survives as an upstanding monolith on the south bank of the River Don, southeast of Kintore at 70m above sea level. 

The standing stone is an earthfast granite boulder and measures approximately 1.4m high and 1m wide by 1m broad at its base. It has distinctive, vertically aligned patterns of weathering.

The scheduled area is circular, measuring 5m in diameter, centred on the stone and includes the remains described above and an area around within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to 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

This well-preserved single standing stone survives in an upstanding form and there is no evidence for disturbance of its original setting, despite some recent soil poaching around its base. It therefore has the potential to tell us more about the circumstances and details of its placement here. Where subsurface deposits, such as burials or associated finds, are present, these can tell us more about the circumstances of its use. Dating evidence may survive and this could help us understand the chronology of these monuments in the prehistoric landscape of Strathdon.

Contextual characteristics

This is a modestly-sized example from a class of 50 or so standing stones known of in Strathdon. It represents the extensive colonisation of this part of Scotland during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age. Broadly contemporary remains of other standing stones, settlements and burial sites are known of in the immediate area and this bears out the theory suggested by researchers that the river Don is a focal feature for prehistoric activity. Researchers think that the position of these standing stones in the landscape (some of then inter-visible) was carefully chosen, not just as a place for ceremony and perhaps ritual but as part of wider network of similar monuments. Its position appears to be carefully chosen, framed by views to the north and north-west, including Bennachie, the prominent landscape feature in this area.

National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant contribution to our understanding of the past, in particular the use of prehistoric standing stones and the role they played in prehistoric life and death. There is good potential for the survival of archaeological evidence relating to its construction and this can help us understand the significance of standing stones individually and as part of wider prehistoric landscapes. The loss of the monument would impede our ability to understand the development of late-neolithic and Bronze-Age communities in NE Scotland.

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.

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