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

  SM13051_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014442)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of a conjoined group of four prehistoric houses and associated features. The settlement is probably Neolithic or Bronze Age in date (from some time between 3000 to 1000 BC). The monument is visible as the partly turf-covered banks of four circular or sub-circular buildings, which vary in internal diameter from around 6m to 9m. The banks obscure the surviving lower courses of drystone walls. The southern edge of the settlement is defined by a line of natural rock outcrop which has been reinforced with stone walling. The monument occupies a small coastal promontory, currently used as grazing land, with the houses roughly aligned across the neck of the promontory. The settlement is located at approximately 10m above sea level at the north end of a bay overlooking West and East Burra to the south and the North Atlantic to the southwest.

The area to be scheduled is irregular on plan and includes the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Cultural Significance

The monument's cultural significance can be expressed as follows:

Intrinsic characteristics

The four conjoined buildings are in relatively good condition overall and their undulating, turf-covered interiors suggest that significant archaeological deposits may survive, sealed by infilling of the houses after they were abandoned. The individual footprints of the houses are clear to see. It appears that the four buildings were physically connected to each other, with adjacent buildings sharing a common wall, which suggests that the site may contain an interesting development sequence. This type of settlement differs from the individual house sites that are much more common in Shetland and seems to represent a variation in prehistoric building form. The monument therefore has the potential to tell us much about construction techniques, the development of domestic architecture, and the functions of conjoined buildings in the prehistoric period. The buried remains may allow future researchers to date the construction and period of use of the settlement. There is potential for the recovery of a range of artefacts and ecofacts within the interiors of the buildings and in the ground immediately surrounding the settlement. These could enhance our understanding of the daily lives of the people who occupied the settlement and provide important information about domestic and agricultural life.

Contextual characteristics

This type of prehistoric settlement is broadly similar to others in Shetland, but it is distinctive in using the local landform to separate land to seaward from the more fertile ground to the immediate north. Defence may have been a factor in this choice of location (just above the low sea cliff and across a promontory), but the coastal position also allowed the settlement to take advantage of the shelter afforded by the bay and gave good views south and westwards.

There are a number of other interesting features in the near vicinity, including a substantial burnt mound about 70m to the northwest, several clearance cairns also to the northwest, and other possibly contemporary linear features likely to represent the remains of field boundaries and enclosures. This monument is therefore an important element of a possibly contemporary relict landscape.

Statement of National Importance

Cultural Significance

The monument's cultural significance can be expressed as follows:

Intrinsic characteristics

The four conjoined buildings are in relatively good condition overall and their undulating, turf-covered interiors suggest that significant archaeological deposits may survive, sealed by infilling of the houses after they were abandoned. The individual footprints of the houses are clear to see. It appears that the four buildings were physically connected to each other, with adjacent buildings sharing a common wall, which suggests that the site may contain an interesting development sequence. This type of settlement differs from the individual house sites that are much more common in Shetland and seems to represent a variation in prehistoric building form. The monument therefore has the potential to tell us much about construction techniques, the development of domestic architecture, and the functions of conjoined buildings in the prehistoric period. The buried remains may allow future researchers to date the construction and period of use of the settlement. There is potential for the recovery of a range of artefacts and ecofacts within the interiors of the buildings and in the ground immediately surrounding the settlement. These could enhance our understanding of the daily lives of the people who occupied the settlement and provide important information about domestic and agricultural life.

Contextual characteristics

This type of prehistoric settlement is broadly similar to others in Shetland, but it is distinctive in using the local landform to separate land to seaward from the more fertile ground to the immediate north. Defence may have been a factor in this choice of location (just above the low sea cliff and across a promontory), but the coastal position also allowed the settlement to take advantage of the shelter afforded by the bay and gave good views south and westwards.

There are a number of other interesting features in the near vicinity, including a substantial burnt mound about 70m to the northwest, several clearance cairns also to the northwest, and other possibly contemporary linear features likely to represent the remains of field boundaries and enclosures. This monument is therefore an important element of a possibly contemporary relict landscape.

National Importance

This monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to the understanding of the past, in particular prehistoric settlement, agriculture and land-use in Shetland. It has the potential to improve our understanding of the structural techniques used to build houses and changes in settlement types over time. There is high potential to study how this site fitted into a landscape rich in prehistoric remains. The loss of this monument would impede our ability to understand the nature of prehistoric domestic architecture and settlement both in Shetland and 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.