Description

The monument comprises a hut circle, the footings of a prehistoric round house dating to the Bronze Age (2400-500 BC) or Iron Age (500 BC-AD 500). It is sited in an area of undulating heather covered moorland to the N of the track leading to Lochan Dubh in Strathnairn, at approximately 225 m above sea level.

The hut circle is centred at NH67330 31094 and measures 11 m in diameter within a stony bank 2 m in thickness and 0.6 m in height. The entrance is to the E and is 2.3 m wide. The interior is sunken and boggy and almost entirely covered with heather. Although the monument reportedly has a faceted octagonal shape, it is not possible to see this through the heather cover. A possible enclosure bank runs around the N and W of the monument. A telegraph pole is situated in the SW of the interior and wires pass directly over the circle.

The monument appears to be one of a number of large hut circles recently identified in Upper Strathnairn in which the interior shows signs of excessive wear and slopes down towards an unusually wide entrance. A function such as a byre is a possibility or it may represent a hut circle re-used as a yard or pen for livestock.

The area to be scheduled is circular on plan, centred on the hut circle, 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. The scheduling excludes the above-ground portions of the telegraph pole and its supporting wire stay, to allow for the maintenance of the overhead electricity line.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

Cultural Significance

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

Intrinsic characteristics: The monument is in a good state of preservation. It is upstanding and clearly visible in the landscape. The continued lack of cultivation of the land has probably resulted in the preservation of high quality archaeological deposits within the structure. It therefore has the potential to reveal further information about local variations in domestic architecture and building use, as well as prehistoric upland landuse.

Contextual characteristics: As a well-preserved hut circle, the monument has the potential to reveal much about house building and domestic life in the later prehistoric communities of NE Scotland. Comparing and contrasting it to nearby upland hut-circles and to lowland cropmark sites, and others outwith the region, can improve our understanding of regional identity, economy and society. The monument appears to be one of a number of large hut circles recently identified in Upper Strathnairn which could be interpreted as byres, or alternatively as hut circles re-used as a yards or pens for livestock.

National importance: The monument is of national importance because it appears to be well preserved, which is rare for this class of monument in this region. It has the potential to make a significant contribution to our knowledge of upland landuse and society in this locality and, by association, the rest of Scotland in the later prehistoric period. The loss of this rare and well-preserved example in this area would affect our future ability to research and understand these issues.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS record the monument as NH63SE 62; Highland Council SMR as NH63SE0060.

References:

RCAHMS 1994, UPPER STRATHNAIRN, INVERNESS: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY, Edinburgh, The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland