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

  SM2062_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600008334)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of a broch and adjoining causeway of Iron Age date, built probably between 500 BC and AD 200. The broch occupies the whole of a small islet 80-100m from the W shore of the island of Trondra and is visible as a roughly circular, low mound of stones, with a stone causeway connecting it to Trondra. The surviving outer structure is partly submerged at high water. The broch covers an area approximately 35m in diameter, with the causeway running NE for approximately 50m. The monument was first scheduled in 1934 but the documentation does not meet modern standards: the present rescheduling rectifies this.

The area to be scheduled is irregular in shape to include 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.

Statement of National Importance

Cultural Significance

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

Intrinsic characteristics

The broch and causeway survive in reasonable condition as low-mounded stone structures with their ground plan intact. It is highly likely that evidence for the broch's construction and use survive, despite its low-lying seaward position. Many artefacts and ecofacts may also be present, including rare organic materials such as wood, leather and unburnt seeds, which often only survive in submerged environments. Together, this structural and artefactual evidence can help us piece together the wider picture of settlement here and the changing social, economic and environmental circumstances during construction, use and abandonment of the broch.

Contextual characteristics

This broch is one of over 130 brochs known of in Shetland. Brochs are a distinctive type of Iron Age structure and are likely to have served a variety of functions. While a domestic and agricultural function has been inferred from the evidence of excavated brochs elsewhere, researchers have also considered the symbolic and strategic significance of these buildings and their outworks, and their position in the surrounding landscape. This example was clearly sited in a defensible position on an islet where it was also well placed to exploit landward and seaward resources. It would have been highly visible and was possibly also a prestigious coastal mark. It has the potential to tell us much about the architecture, function and relative status of brochs and related structures, and the use and exploitation of natural resources and the surrounding landscape in the Iron Age.

An eroding sub-rectangular building lay on the shore of Trondra immediately adjacent to the broch islet. Archaeological excavations have indicated that this structure was used as a smithy at broadly the same time as the broch. A series of small hearths, an anvil stone and widespread evidence of hammer scale were found in the interior, together with fragments of rotary querns and quantities of black burnished pottery. This adds to the interest of the broch as a potential focus for activity, and provides further evidence of the broadly contemporary technology and material culture of Iron Age communities in Shetland.

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 the Iron Age occupation of Shetland and the role and function of brochs. The survival of structural and artefactual material from various phases of the broch's development can help us understand more about the lives and activities of the people who occupied these monuments. Its loss would significantly diminish our future ability to appreciate and understand this class of monument and the wider Iron Age landscape of 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.