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

  SM6062_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600011954)

Summary

Description

The monument consists of the remains of a broch, an Iron Age defensive construction, with outer banks and a quarry-ditch. The broch has been set on the W side of a small valley, about 10m from the edge of a low but steep escarpment. Of the broch itself, only traces of the lower wall-courses survive, indicating a diameter of just under 20m. There are signs of a wall-base cell on the NE part of the circuit.

Outside the broch on the N to NNE is a low bank, the remains of a rampart, which ends at the edge of the escarpment. A second bank, separated from the first by a broad, flat-bottomed ditch, lies outside the first, and continues from the N through W to SW. This outer rampart, of mixed earth and rubble, is now the most noticeable feature on the site, rising over 2m from the bottom of the internal quarry-ditch at the N, where it is most pronounced, and falling away in height to the SW.

The edge of the escarpment, to the E of the broch and ramparts, has been crowned by a stone-faced rampart, much of which has slipped over the edge. The area to be scheduled is triangular, bounded on the E by a modern surface drain at the foot of the escarpment. It has sides of 85m (NE), 80m (S) and 80m (NW), to include the remains of the broch and its outer ditch and ramparts, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as much for the outer defences as for the remains of the broch, which is almost removed. The remains of the broch and the ramparts have the potential, through excavation and analysis, to provide important information about the construction, and destruction, of brochs, while the ditch may contain deposits which could throw light upon the domestic economy of the broch's builders and inhabitants, and thus on Iron Age society in general.

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.