Description

The monument is the remains of an enclosed prehistoric settlement visible as cropmarks captured on oblique aerial photographs. The settlement probably dates to between 500 BC and AD 200. The cropmarks show that the settlement is enclosed by a substantial ditch, some 3-4m wide. The enclosed area is almost square in shape and measures around 76m E-W by 66m transversely. A dark cropmark towards the centre of the enclosure appears to represent an internal structure, probably a sunken house or yard. The settlement occupies an area of relatively level ground immediately NE of the modern farm of Little Pinkerton at around 60m OD. The monument was first scheduled in 1993, but the documentation does not meet modern standards: the present rescheduling rectifies this.

The area to be scheduled is irregular on plan to include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because of its potential to make a significant addition to knowledge and understanding of rural settlement in the later Iron Age and Roman periods. The survival of the enclosure ditch and internal features, probably including a sunken building with occupation debris, means that the monument can significantly enhance our understanding of the domestic buildings, daily life, agriculture and economy of the later Iron Age. Research has shown that rectangular enclosures are characteristic of farmsteads of this period. This monument therefore represents a good example of a key component of the later Iron Age landscape in lowland Scotland. Our understanding of the distribution and character of later Iron Age settlements would be diminished if this monument was lost or damaged. Its importance is enhanced by its association with the wider landscape of enclosed settlements on and around Doon Hill, which forms one of the most important concentrations of evidence for social and economic change in southern Scotland in the 1st millennia BC and AD.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

Hazelgrove, C, 2009 Traprain Law Environs Project.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland