Description

The monument comprises the remains of a Bronze-Age or Iron-Age ring-ditch house, one of very few upstanding prehistoric monuments in Western Strathdon. It is visible as an upstanding feature, lying in pasture on the southern slope of Glas Thom, at 450m OD.

The ring-ditch measures 8.8m in external diameter over a ditch 3m in breadth and 0.3m in depth. There is a slight outer bank visible on the S and NE, which is up to 1.6m wide and 0.1m high. The entrance is on the E.

The area proposed for scheduling is circular on plan, to include the ring-ditch house and an area around in which evidence for its construction and use may survive, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

Cultural Significance

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

Intrinsic characteristics: The monument is a well-preserved example of a later prehistoric ring-ditch house. The remains of the ditch and bank are visible on the ground. Given the site's current landuse as pasture, it is likely that archaeologically significant deposits relating to the construction, use and abandonment of the structure remain in situ. Although there is some mole activity on the site, it is unlikely that the animals have strayed below the topsoil.

The site has considerable potential to enhance understanding of later prehistoric roundhouses and the daily lives of the people who occupied them, whether or not people occupied it for a long period of time, or on a seasonal basis.

Contextual characteristics: The monument is a good representative of what may have once been a numerous class; the rarity of such sites in the area may be due to poor survival owing to intensive agricultural practices since the later prehistoric period. Together with the ring-ditch 50 m to the S, it retains the potential to provide information about later prehistoric settlement patterns. Comparison of local architectural features in this area with those of other prehistoric roundhouses in Scotland may enhance our understanding of regional variation in later prehistoric settlement.

Associative characteristics: The monument is the product of later prehistoric domestic activities and is an example of a widespread type, which is rare in this part of Aberdeenshire.

National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to the understanding of the past, in particular the later prehistoric period. Its relatively good preservation, and its group value when considered with the other ring-ditch nearby, enhances this potential. The loss of, or damage to, the monument would significantly diminish the capacity of the class to contribute to our understanding of the development of later prehistoric architecture, society, economy in Scotland in general and the prehistory of Western Strathdon in particular.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS record the monument as NJ20NE80.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland