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

  SM1365_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600004117)

Summary

Description

The monument consists of a chambered tomb of Neolithic date, into which a roundhouse was set in the early Iron Age. Quanterness was already disturbed when it was excavated by Professor Renfrew in 1972-3. He clarified the plan of the chambered tomb, as a slightly elongated mound concealing a rectangular chamber with six side-chambers. The main chamber was entered by a passage running from the E. Considerable quantities of human and animal bone were recovered, together with pottery and artefacts of bone and stone. At the outer end of the entrance passage, embedded in the mound of the cairn, was a circular structure which was shown after excavation to be a roundhouse of mid first millennium BC date. Quanterness was the first site at which this association between Iron Age roundhouses and chambered tomb mounds was noted, and similar results have come from other Orcadian sites since then, notably at Howe near Stromness. Portions of the Iron Age roundhouse, and almost the entire body of the cairn except for its chambers, were left intact for future reference. The area to be scheduled is an irregular quadrilateral, with its outer edge 10m within the inner face of the surrounding wall, giving maximum dimensions of 60m E-W by 45m, to include the cairn, the roundhouse and an area around them in which further archaeological remains are likely to survive, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as the location of very significant archaeological excavations which provided many new insights into the society and culture both of Neolithic and of Iron Age society. Although partly excavated, the large bulk of the site has not been examined, and it retains the potential to provide very important information about the known structures. There is a high likelihood of further structures associated with the cairn mound or its subsequent adaptation and modification.

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.