Documents

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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

  SM5901_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600011798)

Summary

Description

The monument consists of a standing stone and several fallen stones, the remains of a stone setting, and an enclosure, possibly of later date.

The only stone still erect is some 1.7m high, and stands on a knoll with wide views NW to the sea and SW to Steinacleit and Loch an Duin. To the S of this stone, some 42m away, is a very large prostrate slab, almost 4m long, with traces of a socket. To the SE, 13.5m away from the upright stone, is a third slab, of similar dimensions to the first. To the W of the upright stone is an oval enclosure formed by a turf-covered bank or tumbled wall. This is some 50m from N-S and 40m E-W. It is least well-preserved to the E, near the standing stone.

The relative dates of the ruined stone circle and the enclosure cannot be established without excavation, but the enclosure seems likely to be later. The area to be scheduled is a circle 80m in diameter to include the standing stone and the fallen stones of the circle and the enclosure, together with an area around them in which additional remains may survive, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as a stone circle which may have been deliberately slighted in antiquity. It has the potential, through excavation and analysis (which may recover its original plan), to provide information about Neolithic ritual practices. The associated enclosure is undated, but may be a prehistoric agricultural, rather than a ritual, structure. In any case, it will seal below its thickness soil deposits capable of providing information about the state of vegetation and agriculture in pre-Iron Age Lewis.

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.