Description

The monument comprises a cairn or barrow of probable Bronze-Age date, situated on a NW-facing hillside at about 125m above sea level, 415m west of the buildings at Douglashall Pendicle.

Grass-covered and circular on plan, the cairn measures approximately 18m in diameter and is preserved to a height of 1.5m. There is no evidence to suggest internal disruption or stone robbing, and no stones are visible on the surface of the mound, indicating that internal preservation is likely to be excellent. A field boundary and road lies just to the south. Elements of a possible ditch and slight outer bank are present to the north-west of the cairn.

The area to be scheduled is a clipped circle on plan, to include the cairn and an area around within which evidence relating to its construction and use may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduled area extends up to, but does not include the fence to the south.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

Cultural Significance

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

Intrinsic characteristics

Visible as a prominent turf-covered mound, the monument is an excellent example of a well-preserved Bronze-Age cairn, which rarely survives as upstanding features in this region due to intensive agricultural practices. The lack of disturbance indicates the potential for good preservation of funerary remains and archaeological deposits within the cairn. The potential exists for a buried soil to remain preserved beneath the cairn and for deposits to be preserved within the fill of the possible ditch that would provide evidence of the Bronze-Age environment within which the cairn was built. The monument has the potential to further our understanding of Bronze-Age funerary practices, as well as inform our knowledge of the structural features of cairns and surrounding ditches.

Contextual characteristics

Bronze-Age funerary monuments are found widely throughout eastern Dumfriesshire, but they tend to form localised clusters. The monument forms part of a complex of monuments all located along the E bank of the Water of Milk. Of the approximate 300 known cairns in the region, this is one of approximately 11 that remain undisturbed. Spatial analysis of the Bronze-Age cairns and other burial sites in the region may further our understanding of funerary site location, the structure of society, and the Bronze-Age economy. Information gained from the preservation and study of this site can be used to gain an insight into the wider knowledge of Bronze-Age funerary practices across Scotland.

Associative characteristics

The road adjacent to the monument was built at some time between the mid-19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Its course runs adjacent to but does not cut across the cairn, suggesting that its builders had an awareness of the significance and value of the site.

National Importance

This monument is of national importance because it is a well-preserved Bronze-Age burial monument that characterises the wider relict funerary landscape, forming an intrinsic element of the prehistoric burial pattern along the Water of Milk. Funerary remains and artefacts from cairns have the potential to tell us about wider prehistoric society, how people lived, where they came from and who they had contacts with. The old ground surfaces sealed by the monument can provide information about what the contemporary environment looked like and how it was managed by the prehistoric farmers who buried their dead here. Its loss would impede our ability to understand the placing of such monuments within the landscape both in this region and across Scotland, as well as our knowledge of Bronze-Age social structure and economy.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS record the site as NY17NE 35.

References:

RCAHMS 1997, EASTERN DUMFRIESSHIRE: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE, Edinburgh: HMSO.

Robins M P 1993, ?Annandale and Eskdale District (Moffat parish, Kirkpatrick Juxta parish): M74 survey?, DISCOVERY EXCAV SCOT, 17.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland