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

  Legal Documents for Hawkshaw Farm, unenclosed platform settlement 1240m E of (SM2751)

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600022724)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises an unenclosed platform settlement terraced into the western slopes of The Rig above the Fruid Water. It survives as a series of six or seven platforms, which are likely to date to the Bronze Age.

The platforms, which would have supported timber round houses or other structures, are terraced in the slope of The Rig. They average 8-9m across and survive as grass covered platforms, with a scarp or scoop to the rear and a lip or apron on the downslope side.

The scheduled area is irregular. It includes the remains described above and an area around within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. Specifically excluded from the scheduled area is the line of utility poles near the modern road.

Statement of National Importance

Cultural Significance

The cultural significance of the monument has been assessed as follows:

Intrinsic Characteristics

The monument is an example of an unenclosed platform settlement, visible as a series of terraced platforms above the Fruid Water. These settlements typical consist of a series of oval or circular level platforms backed by a crescentic rear scarp formed by cutting into the slope and fronted by a forward scarp which falls to meet the natural land surface below. Although seven platforms are recorded in the Peeblesshire Inventory (RCAHMS 1967) and on the current Ordnance Survey mapping, only six platforms are visible. The seventh may be obscured by vegetation. Although the monument is located within an area of commercial forestry, the six visible platforms are clear and survive in a good condition. The level of preservation and the cohesive nature of the settlement are an important aspect of the monuments' intrinsic characteristics and contribute to its national importance.

Unenclosed platform settlements have been shown by archaeological excavation to be Bronze Age in date. There is no clear indication whether the remains at this site have an extended development sequence, however, other examples indicate that this may be the case, for example Green Knowe (scheduled monument SM2760) and Fruid Water (Canmore ID 282927). Scientific study of the form and construction of the platforms has the potential to clarify the date of the remains and the development sequence at this site. Comparative study of the form and structure of unenclosed platform settlements has the potential to provide information about the design, construction and development of later prehistoric settlement. Excavations at other monuments of this type, for example Lintshie Gutter (scheduled monument SM4603), have shown that the platforms were utilised both as a stance for timber roundhouses and as platforms for non-domestic buildings such as byres.

There is good potential for the survival of archaeological deposits, including occupation and abandonment debris, artefacts and environmental remains such as charcoal and pollen within, beneath and around the remains of the platforms. These deposits can help us understand more about prehistoric domestic and agricultural practice, and the significance of materials, technology and craft in a domestic-agricultural context. This monument has the potential to add to our understanding of settlement, land-use and environment during later prehistory, and provide information about the economy, diet and social status of the occupants and the structure of contemporary society and economy.

Contextual Characteristics

Unenclosed platform settlements have been identified across southern Scotland and northern England. In Scotland the National Record of the Historic Environment lists around 140 unenclosed platform settlements, the majority located within the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire council areas. 32 of these settlements are located in and around Tweedsmuir and when taken with another group in and around Crawford in South Lanarkshire (14kms to the west) this is the largest known concentration of unenclosed platform settlements found in Scotland.

The local landscape contains also a number of other sites such as burnt mounds, cairns and enclosed cremation cemeteries. Some or all of these are likely to date to the Bronze Age and therefore constitute and important grouping of Scottish Bronze Age monuments. Scientific study of the location and distribution of these monuments has the potential to provide information on the Bronze Age landscape of the Upper Tweed valley.

Associative Characteristics

There are no known associative characteristics which contribute to the site's national importance.

Statement of National Importance

This monument is of national importance because it makes a significant addition to our understanding of later prehistoric society and the construction, use and development of settlement in the south of Scotland. This unenclosed platform settlement is a good example of later prehistoric settlement that retains its field characteristics to a marked degree. As such there is significant potential for the survival of archaeological deposits within and around the platforms. As a well preserved example of an unenclosed platform settlement, the monument can significantly enhance our understanding of domestic buildings, agriculture and economy in the Bronze Age in southern Scotland. The close proximity of other, probably contemporaneous, prehistoric sites adds to the monument's importance and enhances our knowledge of the Bronze Age landscape of southern 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.

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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.

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