Description

The monument comprises the remains of a prehistoric stone setting, lying just off-centre within a very extensive but now much flattened oval embankment. The monument was first scheduled in 1937, but an inadequate area was included to protect all of the archaeological remains: this re-scheduling rectifies this.

The stone setting now forms the most visible element of the monument. This comprises a massive stone slab, measuring 1.7m by 1.4m and 0.4m thick, and a group of six large stone blocks set in the ground. The large slab rests on two of the six blocks, and the remaining four blocks are close by. There are also several smaller stones in the vicinity. The stones lie within a slightly dished oval area, measuring some 75m NE-SW by 90m transversely. Previously this area was enclosed by a bank or wall, recorded as an upstanding feature in 19th-century surveys and as a surface indication in 1928. The exact position of the bank can no longer be determined on the ground surface.

The stone setting has been interpreted previously as the remains of a chambered tomb within a lost cairn, but is now thought to be a more complex ritual and funerary site. The 19th-century surveys recorded a 'tumulus' and a well abutting the southern edge of the enclosure, with a second 'tumulus' and a cist recorded some 180m WNW of the stones. The site can best be interpreted as some form of ritual enclosure with a central tabular structure and outlying burial cairns. The presence of the well may also be significant. It is likely to date from the late 3rd or early 2nd millennium BC.

The area to be scheduled is oval in shape, measuring 108m NW-SE by 95m NE-SW, centred on the centre of the enclosure, as marked in red on the accompanying map. It includes the group of stones and the sub-surface remains of the enclosure, and an area around them in which evidence relating to the construction and use of the monument is likely to survive. The top 30cm of the track that overlies the enclosure on its NW arc, and the fence that abuts that track, are excluded from scheduling to allow for their maintenance.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as the remains of an unusual prehistoric ritual enclosure, which, despite the effects of ploughing, has the potential to provide important information about prehistoric funerary and ritual architecture and practices.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as HY21NE 3.

References:

Davidson J L and Henshall A S 1989, THE CHAMBERED CAIRNS OF ORKNEY, Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, 159-60.

NSA 1845, THE NEW STATISTICAL ACCOUNTS, Edinburgh, XV, Orkney, 53.

RCAHMS 1946, TWELFTH REPORT WITH AN INVENTORY OF THE ANCIENT MONUMENTS OF ORKNEY AND SHETLAND, 3V, Edinburgh, 267.

Thomas F W L 1852, 'Account of some celtic antiquities in Orkney', ARCHAEOLOGIA 34, 88-136.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland