Description

The monument comprises the remains of a double-ditched enclosed settlement, visible as a cropmark, of probable later prehistoric date. It is located at 160m above sea level on a gentle S-facing slope 550m N of Eye Water and 270m south-east of Greenwood Farm.

The monument survives as a sub-circular mark visible as a cropmark captured on a series of oblique aerial photographs, the most recent taken in 2006. Cropmarks represent negative archaeological features. These features retain moisture differently to the surrounding subsoil, resulting in variation of growth of the crops above. Two concentric ditches, 6-7m apart, enclose an area around 45m by 38m. The ditches are comparable in width and measure about 2-4m. There is an entrance on the NW side and a gap in the inner ditch on the ESE side. The monument is also visible on the ground as a slight depression.

The area to be scheduled is sub-circular in plan, to include the remains described and an area around them within which evidence relating to their construction, use and relationship to adjacent cropmark features may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling extends up to but excludes a fence that marks the N edge of the scheduled area.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

Cultural Significance

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

Intrinsic characteristics

As a buried feature clearly visible in the form of a cropmark on very recent aerial photographs, the monument is a good example of an enclosed settlement site, likely to be late 1st millennium BC or early 1st millennium AD in date, surviving well in an area of agricultural activity. The fact that the monument is also discernable on the ground as a slight depression suggests that its preservation is of a high quality. Although the area is in cultivation, buried deposits within the interior may preserve evidence relating to domestic structures and the activities undertaken within and around them. It is likely that a bank would have lain inside the circuit of the inner ditch and potential exists for survival of a buried soil beneath any remaining vestiges of this bank. Soils may also survive within the two ditches and these will provide evidence of the environment within which the settlement enclosure was constructed. The ditches and other surviving negative features are also likely to contain deposits that can tell us about the economy of the inhabitants of the enclosure, the date at which it was built, used and abandoned, and what may have happened in and around the site subsequently.

Contextual characteristics

The monument belongs to a large and widespread class of enclosure monuments, found throughout Scotland. As such it has the capacity to contribute towards a better understanding of enclosed settlements. As well as individual features, the wider setting and context of these monuments can help us to understand their purpose and significance. The monument sits on a gentle S-facing slope to the north of the Eye Water. A modern plantation, 'Greenwood', lies to the north and obscures the view in this direction. The views in all other directions are good across and along the Eye Water valley. Comparing and contrasting the situation of the enclosure to other examples both nearby and within the wider area can enable an understanding of how prehistoric farmers positioned such sites within the landscape, as well as provide enhanced contexts for Iron-Age economy and the structure of society. Information gained from the preservation and study of this site can provide an insight into the wider knowledge of Iron-Age enclosed settlement across Scotland.

National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant contribution to our understanding of the past, in particular later prehistoric settlement enclosures and associated features. This contribution extends to their location within the landscape and the relationship between them, as well as the Iron-Age society that created and inhabited them. The loss of the monument will impede our ability to understand the nature of later prehistoric activity, not just in the SE Scottish Borders but across Scotland, as well as the value placed on such monuments by later communities.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NT86SW 2. The Scottish Borders Council SMR records the monument as 1060015.

Aerial photographs:

RCAHMS (1976) NT86SW 2 Greenwood Earthwork AP Neg BW/1584.

RCAHMS (1983) NT86SW 2 Greenwood Earthwork AP Neg BW/4930.

RCAHMS (1984) NT86SW 2 Greenwood Settlement No. A22005.

References:

RCAHMS 1980b, THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND MONUMENTS OF BERWICKSHIRE DISTRICT, BORDERS REGION, The Archaeological Sites and Monuments of Scotland Series No. 10, 30, No. 236, Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland