Description

The monument comprises a burnt mound, a prehistoric (probably Bronze Age) cooking place, which may conceal evidence for contemporary settlement. The burnt mound lies on a N-facing slope at the foot of Sandness Hill, overlooking Loch of Huxter. It has been bisected by a modern drystone wall, which is to be excluded from scheduling so that it may be repaired as necessary. The mound has been of crescentic plan, and rises to 1.2m tall. Its maximum extent is hard to determine, but has been in the order of 15m from E-W. At points where livestock have trampled the edge of the mound, the upper edges of large stone slabs protrude, indicating underlying structures. Wether these are the remains of a cooking trough or of some other domestic construction cannot be ascertained. Such mounds are the by-product of boiling by the immersion of heated stones in a trough of water. They are usually interpreted as cooking places. The area to be scheduled is rectangular, 40m by 30m, and is bisected by a modern drystone wall, which is excluded from scheduling. The area is marked in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a fine example of a burnt mound, which has the potential, through excavation and analysis to provide information about prehistoric domestic economy and diet and possibly also about domestic architecture.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as HU 15 NE 7.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland