Description

The monument comprises a palisaded settlement of later prehistoric date that has been recorded as cropmarks on oblique aerial photographs. It comprises a roundhouse and souterrain contained within a circular twin-ditched enclosure and outer, crescent-shaped ditches. The monument is located in arable farmland at around 25m above sea level. 

The settlement has four elements. A central roundhouse with associated features measures around 13.5m in diameter with an adjacent, curved souterrain 7.5m long (souterrains are subterranean structures believed to have been used for storage). These are surrounded by two circular concentric palisade trenches (a continuous narrow trench within which a timber fence of closely spaced posts was set) about 40m in diameter. There are two broad crescent-shaped external ditch features to the northeast and southeast. Other cropmarks in the interior may indicate the survival of associated structures. 

The scheduled area is a circle measuring 90m in diameter, centred on the centre of the visible remains. It includes the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as it makes a significant contribution to our understanding or appreciation of the past or has the potential to do so as a prehistoric enclosed settlement. The monument is an important indicator of later prehistoric settlement and associated activity in southwest Scotland. It retains structural field characteristics in buried stratigraphic layers demonstrated by crop marks and has research potential which could significantly contribute to our understanding or appreciation of the past. This could inform us about the changing nature of settlement, agriculture, economy and population during the later prehistoric period in southwest Scotland.  

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

Historic Environment Scotland http://www.canmore.org.uk reference number CANMORE ID 61704 (accessed on 05/04/2023).

Local Authority HER/SMR Reference MDG1759 (accessed on 05/04/2023).

Cavers G and Crone A, 2017, A lake dwelling in its landscape: Iron Age settlement at Cults Loch, Castle Kennedy, Dumfries & Galloway. Oxbow Books. Oxford.

Wilson D R, 2000, Air Photo Interpretation for Archaeologists. Tempus, Stroud.

Canmore

https://canmore.org.uk/site/61704/

Source: Historic Environment Scotland