Description

The monument is a hut-circle (the remains of a round house) of prehistoric date, lying on the summit of Windy Gate on the edge of a spur at 290m above sea level.

The hut-circle consists of a ditch and external bank, which enclose an approximately circular area about 9m in diameter. The ditch is c1m wide by not more than 0.3m deep and is interrupted on the south-east by a causeway 1.5m wide. The bank, which is 2m thick and 0.4m above present ground level, survives only on the south and north-east and contains a number of large stones. Elsewhere the bank has been destroyed by former cultivation which has contributed to the levelling of the site as a whole. On the north a stone embedded in the inner face of the bank bears a single cup mark, 60mm in diameter and 30mm deep. The interior is level and there is no indication that a mound ever existed.

Hut circles are characteristic of Bronze and Iron Age settlement sites and represent the remains of timber-roofed roundhouses.

The area proposed for scheduling comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related material may be expected to be found. It is circular and measures 35m in diameter

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because of its potential to contribute to an understanding of prehistoric settlement, economy and ritual practices. Its importance is increased by its proximity to other monuments of potentially contemporary date that are of potentially different use.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

The monument is recorded by RCAHMS as NT04NW 28, Windy Gate Enclosure.

References:

RCAHMS 1978a, LANARKSHIRE: AN INVENTORY OF THE PREHISTORIC AND ROMAN MONUMENTS, Edinburgh: HMSO, 69, No. 118 (2, 3).

RCAHMS 1978a, LANARKSHIRE: AN INVENTORY OF THE PREHISTORIC AND ROMAN MONUMENTS, Edinburgh: HMSO, 8, 157, No. 326.

Plans:

RCAHMS, 1972, NS94SW 22, Windy Gap Enclosure, LA 108/5/P.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland