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

  SM5499_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600011399)

Summary

Description

The monument consists of a standing stone and broken, displaced or buried portions of 7 more, plus sockets for at least 3 further stones, either removed or never emplaced, together with the remains of 2 burial cairns and a group of later shieling huts.

The single standing stone is 1.5m high, and lies on the SW side of an irregular oval which includes the stump of another standing stone and the fallen and peat-buried blocks which, together with the stone-lined sockets, make up what is clearly a deliberate arrangement, despite its irregularity of plan.

The setting occupies a gently sloping hillside platform with a wide prospect to W, S and E. The two cairns are 13m and 7m in diameter, located respectively 40m E and 20m S of the standing stone. There is a small circular setting, or possibly the kerb of a small cairn, to the S, at the foot of a rock outcrop.

In the S part of the area stones from the cairns, and possibly the setting, have been used to construct a group of shieling huts, themselves now ruinous. The area to be scheduled is a rectangle, 110m E-W by 95m N-S, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as an example of a rare type of field monument, an 'enclosure', or closed setting, which is not even approximately circular but which is clearly of megalithic character. Its importance is enhanced by its state of either partial destruction or, more probably, non-completion, and by the possibility of evidence surviving below the peat for the date, means of construction and intended plan of monument, and by its association with 2 of the more substantial cairns of the 20 or so within the Callanish area. The monument is also a member of the major Callanish group ('Callanish XI'), which is of extremely high importance for its potential to provide information relating to the date, nature and purpose of such megalithic assemblages.

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.