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

  SM1349_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600004102)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of at least eight barrows dating probably to the Bronze Age (between 2000 and 800 BC). Three of the barrows (in the western field) are upstanding and visible as sub-circular, low turf-covered earthen mounds. The other five barrows (in the eastern field) survive either as very low rises or as buried archaeological deposits. The mounds vary in size from 6m to 16m in diameter and stand between 0.1m and 1.6m in height. The monument occupies SE-facing sloping ground, overlooking the Loch of Harray, at around 20m above OD. The monument was first scheduled in 1949, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

The scheduled area comprises two discrete oval-shaped areas, one in the western field and the other in the eastern field. The scheduled areas 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 all post-and-wire fences to allow for their maintenance.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because of its potential to make a significant addition to understanding of burial and funerary practices in Bronze Age Orkney. Earthen barrows form an important and relatively widespread element of Orkney's Bronze Age landscape, and provide evidence for the major social and economic changes which took place during this period. Midhouse is notable because it originally included at least eight barrows forming a barrow cemetery, of which three are upstanding today, one of them particularly substantial. Its significance is enhanced as it is part of a wider funerary landscape, associated with other barrow mounds and Bronze Age sites on marginal land nearby. Our understanding of the form, function and distribution of Bronze Age barrows in Orkney would be diminished if this monument was to be lost or further damaged.

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.