Scheduled Monument
Earls Knoll,long cairn & windmill SSW of East HouseSM1260
Status: Designated
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.
Summary
- Date Added
- 20/01/1951
- Last Date Amended
- 06/12/2000
- Type
- Industrial: mill, factory, Prehistoric ritual and funerary: long cairn, Secular: mill (domestic / small-scale)
- Local Authority
- Orkney Islands
- Parish
- Stronsay
- NGR
- HY 66859 29197
- Coordinates
- 366859, 1029197
Description
The monument comprises a long turf-covered mound surmounted by the remains of a dry-stone windmill base. The monument was first scheduled in 1951 but an inadequate area was included to protect all of the archaeological remains: the present rescheduling rectifies this.
The mound is located on the summit of a low knoll about 50m from the current shoreline, at about 9m OD. It is 75m long. The mound is at its broadest and highest at the ends: at the E end it measures 20m broad and 2.2m high; at the W end it measures 12m broad and 0.9m high. The base of a windmill is located at the summit of the W end. While ploughing has affected the mound to some extent, the sides are still steep and the mound is still clearly visible. There are no surface features to indicate the make-up of the mound or indications of internal structures. Nor is there any indication of past excavations, although there are records of an 18th century discovery of human remains, including one from a deep grave, marked at its head and foot by long slabs. The windmill-base consists of a low circular dry-stone plinth. It measures some 3.3m diameter at the base and is about 1.2m high. The diameter of the stonework tapers to approximately 2.5m at the uppermost course of stonework. Highly weathered remains of wooden components are still visible, these include a beam projecting horizontally from the upper levels on the W and some amorphous fragments lying within the slightly hollowed interior. There is no indication of construction date, but there is clearly the possibility that the stonework was built with stone taken from the mound.
The area to be scheduled is a rectangle 90m by 40m ESE-WNW to include the whole of the mound, the windmill base and an area of ground extending to 10m out from the outer edge of the mound on all sides in which evidence relating to its construction and use may survive, as marked in red on the accompanying map extract. The above ground components of a post and wire fence crossing the site are excluded from scheduling.
References
Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation
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.
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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.
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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).
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