Description

The monument comprises a prehistoric burial cairn. It lies in rough pasture on the crest of a broad ridge running E from Knock Hill, within a group of prehistoric burial cairns, hut circles and relic field systems identified on Knock Hill and the environs.

The cairn survives as an oval, flat-topped, turf-covered mound measuring 11.5 m from E-W by 13.5 m transversely, and 0.5 m high. The upper part of the cairn is likely to have been quarried for stone during the construction of the adjacent march dyke. However, the surviving form of the monument and its location allow its interpretation with a high degree of confidence.

The area to be scheduled is circular on plan, centred on the cairn, to include the visible remains and an area around in which evidence relating to its construction and use may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

Cultural Significance

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

Intrinsic characteristics: The monument is in a relatively good state of preservation. It is upstanding and clearly visible in the landscape. Despite probable robbing of the stones of the upper part of the cairn, there is no evidence for disturbance of the lower part of the monument and it is therefore likely that its structure preserves archaeological deposits relating to prehistoric burial rites within it.

Contextual characteristics: Comparing and contrasting this cairn to nearby cairns and others outside the region can create an understanding of regional identity and society. The identification of a group of prehistoric monuments on Knock Hill and the environs further enhances the value of the monument. Prior to the construction of the adjacent drystone dyke it would have been clearly visible from other ritual monuments on Knock Hill and prominent on the skyline when viewed from the lower slopes of the adjacent valley.

National importance: The monument is of national importance because it is an upstanding prehistoric burial cairn with the potential to reveal much about funerary practice in the prehistoric communities of NE Scotland. It has the potential to make a significant contribution to our knowledge of prehistoric society in this locality and, by association, the rest of Scotland. The loss of the monument would affect our future ability to appreciate and understand the prehistoric landscape and its inhabitants

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS record the monument as NJ40SE 115.

References:

RCAHMS 2007, IN THE SHADOW OF BENNACHIE: THE FIELD ARCHAEOLOGY OF DONSIDE, ABERDEENSHIRE, Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland