Description

The monument comprises the remains of at least 3 round-houses with associated enclosures or buildings, four large enclosures and two groups of rectangular drystone buildings and numerous stone and turf field boundaries, clearance heaps and amorphous stone and turf structures located in an extensive tract of land within the modern Loch Ore Country Park. The round-houses and enclosures are likely to be prehistoric in date. Some of the rectangular buildings are recorded as ruins on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map and therefore may date to the eighteenth century or earlier.

The easternmost structure represents the remains a round-house and an abutting D-shaped enclosure (listed in NMRS as NT19NE 8.01). The round-house is defined by a substantial turf and stone bank, measuring approximately 10m in internal diameter and measuring 1.3m in width. The D-shaped enclosure, similarly defined by a tall stone and turf bank, lies immediately SE of the round-house and measures 10m from WNW to ESE by 9m transversely. The second round-house (listed in NMRS as NT19NE 8.02) is located approximately 360m to the SW of the first. The structure measures 11.5m in internal diameter with the wall surviving, in the main, as two concentric arcs of stones. Abutting the wall of this round-house are two further structures, lying to the NE and SE respectively. These may represent much-dilapidated buildings or enclosures. The larger of these structures is oval in ground-plan, measuring 11m by 7m internally. Between these two groups of remains, located on the summit of a ridge to the E of Clune Craig, lies a third round house and attached enclosure (not listed in NMRS). In this case, the stone and turf bank encircles an area measuring only 5m in diameter. There is a well defined entrance opening to the E. An oval enclosure is attached to the round-house. On the northern slope of this ridge, a further turf and stone wall delineates a substantial round enclosure (listed in NMRS as NT19NE 8.03), this measures 20m in internal diameter. Within the northern part of the area to be scheduled, close to the present southern shore-line of Loch Ore, there is a prominent rocky boss surmounted by a circular stone-walled enclosure (listed in NMRS as NT19NE 8.04), measuring 14m in internal diameter. The wall measures approximately 1.2 m in width and is faced on the inside with large upright slabs for much of its circumference. The entrance is located on the E. To the north, occupying the summit of a low promontory jutting into Loch Ore, there is a further stone-walled sub-circular enclosure (listed in NMRS as NT19NE 8.05). This measures 30m E-W. Within the surrounding land there are numerous stone and turf field banks, in some cases forming discrete enclosures (one of which is listed in NMRS as NT19NE 8.06) a small rectangular building (listed in NMRS as NT19NE 8.07) and various ruined rectangular drystone structures and enclosures representing the remains of Clune Farm (listed in NMRS as NT19NE 8.08). In addition, throughout the area there are other possible enclosures and cultivation remains.

The area to be scheduled is irregular on plan, with a maximum dimension of 840m NE-SW by 530m NW-SE, to include the round-houses, enclosures, cultivation remains and later settlement remains, as marked in red on the accompanying map extract. All the modern post-and wire fences are excluded from this scheduling to allow for their maintenance and repair. Similarly the top 0.3m of all paths and tracks within the area is excluded from this scheduling to allow for their maintenance.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as the upstanding remains of a suite of prehistoric and later houses and their related landuse remains. Although displaying a wide degree of preservation, the assemblage as a whole has the potential to provide important information on prehistoric and later settlement and landuse practice and the effects and causes of change through time of landuse practice.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

The monument is recorded by RCAHMS as NT19NE 08. Further cultivation remains are listed as NT19NE 24. Each of the principal components have been separately listed by RCAHMS as NT19NE 08.01 to NT19NE 08.08. It is listed as No 56 in the RCAHMS Inventory for Fife (RCAHMS 1933, 32).

References:

OSA 1791-9, THE STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SCOTLAND - PARISH OF FALKLAND, Edinburgh. Vol. 4, 449.

RCAHMS 1933, ELEVENTH REPORT WITH INVENTORY OF MONUMENTS AND CONSTRUCTIONS IN THE COUNTIES OF FIFE, KINROSS, AND CLACKMANNAN, Edinburgh: HMSO.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland