Description

The monument comprises the remains of a series of prehistoric palisaded enclosures of Iron-Age date (the first millennia BC/AD), visible from the air as cropmarks. The site is situated on virtually flat ground on the W side of the River Annan, at 60m above sea level.

The largest enclosure is rectilinear and measures 54m N-S by 48 m transversely. Its SE angle intersects that of a sub-circular enclosure, which measures about 40m in diameter. The circular enclosure is intersected by one or two much smaller sub-circular features, which may represent the remains of an additional phase of activity on the site. Immediately to the north of the rectilinear enclosure are further features that may indicate an annexe, or an additional phase.

The area to be scheduled is irregular in shape, to include the remains described and an area around them within which evidence relating to their construction, use and abandonment may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The above-ground elements of the two telegraph poles are specifically excluded from the scheduling, to allow for their maintenance.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

Cultural Significance

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

Intrinsic characteristics

As a plough-truncated monument visible in cropmarks on aerial photographs, these overlapping enclosures represent a good example of a multi-phase prehistoric site surviving in the lowland zone. Radiocarbon dating of palisaded enclosures within this region have shown that they were constructed throughout the first millennium BC and into the first millennium AD and the monument has the capacity to further our understanding of their period of use. The palisade slots and other negative features surviving on the site are likely to contain archaeological deposits that can tell us about how the enclosures were used, the economy of the inhabitants of the enclosures, the date at which the enclosures were constructed, used and abandoned, and the environment in which the enclosures were built. The monument's multiple phases may indicate a relatively long development sequence. It therefore has the potential to tell us how the daily life of the inhabitants of the settlement changed over time.

Contextual characteristics

The monument is on low-lying ground, close to the Annan Water. It lies close to a complex of prehistoric ritual and funerary monuments, which include a pit-defined cursus, a pit enclosure and round and square barrows. To the south is a scheduled later prehistoric fort. Activity from the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and early historic periods are therefore likely to be represented. Together, these monuments have the potential to inform our understanding of how people's daily lives changed and developed over time. In particular, the monuments may provide insights into the changing importance of ritual and domestic monuments over a period of 4,000 years or more.

Comparing and contrasting the palisaded enclosures to other examples both nearby and within the wider area can enable an understanding of how such sites are positioned within the landscape, as well as provide enhanced contexts for the Iron-Age economy and structure of society. Information gained from the preservation and study of this site can be used to gain an insight into the later prehistoric enclosed settlement across Scotland.

National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to the understanding of the past, in particular, a type of monument that characterises the wider later prehistoric domestic landscape. Domestic remains and artefacts from settlements have the potential to tell us not only about wider prehistoric society, but also its architecture, how people lived, where they came from and who they had contacts with. The multi-phase nature of this monument increases this potential because it indicates occupation over hundreds of years. Archaeological deposits preserved within and around the palisade slots and interior of the monument may provide information about what the contemporary environment looked like and how it was being managed by the prehistoric farmers who lived here. The monument's proximity to other prehistoric monuments, both domestic and ritual, increases its importance. Its loss would impede our ability to understand the changing nature of society during the course of prehistory, both in Dumfries and Galloway and across Scotland.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NY08NE29, Lochbrow: Palisaded Enclosures. Dumfries and Galloway Council's SMR records the monument as MDG9320.

Aerial Photographs Consulted:

RCAHMS 1989 B23310

RCAHMS 1989 B23311

RCAHMS 1989 B23312

RCAHMS 1989 B23313

RCAHMS 1992 C229

RCAHMS 1992 C230

References:

RCAHMS 1997, Eastern Dumfriesshire: An Archaeological Landscape, Edinburgh: The Stationery Office.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland