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

  SM1250_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600004010)

Summary

Description

The monument is a two-storeyed chambered cairn of Orkney-Cromarty type, dating from the Neolithic (probably between 3800 and 2500 BC). It survives as an inconspicuous, roughly circular mound approximately 10m in diameter, standing up to 0.6m above the ground. The monument in fact comprises two superimposed chambers of different types, the lower one of which is intact and entirely below ground, but the upper one is ruinous and fragmentary. The monument is situated on a gently sloping hillside at 20m above sea level, overlooking Calf Sound.

The cairn was excavated by Calder in 1936, which has left a hollow in the centre. The lower chamber is of Bookan type, while the few surviving edge-set slabs suggest that the upper chamber was probably tripartite. The chambers have separate entrance passages: the lower entrance passage faces E (downhill), while the upper passage faces W (uphill). The entrance passage to the lower chamber is approximately 3m long. The lower chamber was built in a hole dug into the clay subsoil and bedrock and entirely lined with well-built masonry of thin horizontally laid slabs. It measures around 4.5m x 2m and is aligned roughly NNE-SSW. At the entrance the height is 1.75m, but the floor drops sharply and it is about 2.10m high on the W side. The chamber has its main axis transversely to the passage which enters the middle of one long side. The chamber is divided into compartments at either end by two pairs of upright stones projecting from the walls and reaching almost to the roof. A third compartment faces the entrance, and a fourth has been squeezed in over the entrance. The roof is of massive flat lintels set across the chamber and the floor was partly levelled with blue clay. Little survives of the upper chamber, but four orthostats indicate that it was probably tripartite in type. The upper chamber was roughly rectangular and aligned W-E. It is estimated to have been 3.5m x 2m and was divided probably into three compartments. Part of the chamber was constructed over the roof slabs of the lower chamber. Only slight traces survive of the upper entrance passage. The monument was originally scheduled in 1936, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

The scheduled area is rectangular on plan, measuring 45m E-W by 35m N-S, to include the remains described above and an area around them 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

The monument is of national importance because it has inherent potential to make a significant contribution to our understanding of the past, in particular the chronology, design and construction of burial monuments, and the nature of belief systems and burial practices in Neolithic Orkney. Two-storeyed cairns are very rare and have the added potential to inform our understanding of the development sequence not only of this site, but also of different types of cairns in Orkney. Across Orkney, chambered cairns are an important component of the wider prehistoric landscape. They are often focal points and can inform our understanding of prehistoric land-use and social organisation. The loss of the monument would significantly diminish our ability to appreciate and understand the treatment and importance of death and burial in prehistoric times and the placing of such monuments within the landscape.

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.