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

  SM13461_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014512)

Summary

Description

The monument is a broch mound dating probably from the Iron Age (between about 600 BC and AD 400), visible as a pronounced rise in a field of cultivated grassland. The monument was levelled at the beginning of the 20th century, but geophysical surveys in 2002 and 2007 have confirmed that the mound contains the remains of a broch below ground. The results revealed part of a broch tower, approximately 30m in diameter, surrounded by a pear-shaped ditched enclosure. The results also suggested the presence of additional stone structures within the tower. The broch occupies a highly strategic location only 425m SE of the Ness of Brodgar, at about 5m above sea level, overlooking the Loch of Harray and the Loch of Stenness.

The scheduled area is circular on plan, measuring 95m in diameter, 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. The scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground elements of the post-and-wire fence that runs NE-SW across the SE edge of the monument.

Statement of National Importance

This monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to our understanding of the past, in particular, of Iron Age society in Orkney and the function, use and development of brochs. Results of geophysical survey indicate that the remains of the broch and ditched enclosure are well-preserved below ground. By analogy with excavated brochs in Orkney, this monument is likely to retain its basal structural characteristics to a marked degree and, together with the ditched enclosure, will certainly contain deposits rich in occupation debris, artefacts and palaeoenvironmental evidence. Its importance is enhanced because of its siting within the Neolithic ritual landscape around the Ness of Brodgar. The Stones of Stenness lie less than 70m to the NW and the late Neolithic settlement of Barnhouse lies only 200m to the NNE. The close proximity of Big Howe broch to these earlier monuments is clearly of significance and has the potential to inform our understanding of the Iron Age community's respect for and appropriation of earlier monuments, perhaps for political or social reasons. Its siting just S of the Ness of Brodgar, a narrow strip of land between the Loch of Stenness and the Loch of Harray, is also likely to have been of strategic significance. The loss of the monument would significantly diminish our future ability to appreciate and understand the development, use and re-use of brochs, and the nature of Iron Age society, economy and social hierarchy in Orkney and further afield.

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.