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

  SM1358_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600004110)

Summary

Description

The monument is a burial cairn dating probably to the Bronze Age (between about 2000 and 800 BC). It survives as a roughly circular turf-covered mound measuring approximately 10m in diameter and standing to a height of about 0.7m. A slight hollow in the centre of the mound indicates that it has been disturbed in antiquity and the Ordnance Survey records that a 'stone cist' was found at this site in 1890. In 1929, it was reported that the cist may have been a chamber with a paved floor, about 1.2m long by 0.9m wide and 0.9m high, which contained a small pile of bones. The monument is situated on a gentle SE-facing slope around 40m above sea level, overlooking the Loch of Harray. The monument was originally scheduled in 1940, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

The scheduled area is circular on plan, measuring 15m in diameter and centred on the centre of the monument. The scheduling includes 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 the inherent potential to contribute towards our understanding of the past, particularly the design and construction of burial monuments, and the nature of belief systems and burial practices during prehistory. Burial monuments such as this provide evidence of the significant changes which took place in society and funerary practice in the Bronze Age in Orkney. The significance of the monument is enhanced by the unusual nature of the reported chamber and by its potential for comparative study with other ritual and funerary, as well as domestic, prehistoric sites within this vicinity and across Orkney. The loss of the monument would diminish our ability to appreciate and understand the meaning and importance of death and burial in prehistoric times and the placing of burial 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.