Description

The monument consists of what may be an oval palisade enclosure and the wall-trench of a circular timber house, situated 220m NNE of Cairnhill farmhouse.

These features are visible on aerial photographs taken in 1978. Excavation elsewhere of similar sites has revealed that, although no upstanding remains survive, valuable evidence about the construction and use of monuments may be recovered from such cropmark monuments.

The enclosure measures about 45m in greatest diameter and there is an entrance on the E; the house, which lies immediately E of the enclosure, measures 14m in diameter and contains traces of a concentric ring of pits, presumably post-holes. Other arcs of a possible palisade trench are also visible, but it is unlikely that any of them are contemporary with either the enclosure or the house.

The area to be scheduled is circular on plan and measures 95m in diameter, to include the cropmarks and an area around in which associated remains may survive, as marked in red on the attached map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because the cropmarks, which show particularly clear details, represent the fragile remains of monuments the upstanding equivalents of which, notably timber houses, do not survive in this region of Scotland. This multi-period settlement site therefore has the potential to provide information about the nature and development of mid to late prehistoric society, including detailed architectural evidence.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NS 20 SW 26.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland