Description

The monument comprises the remains of seven barrows dating from the Bronze Age (between 2000 and 800 BC). The barrows are visible as a tight cluster of sub-circular, low, turf-covered earthen mounds, all contained within an area of 0.06 hectares. The mounds vary in size from 5m to 9m in diameter and stand between 0.2m and 0.4m in height. The monument occupies sloping ground on the SW face of Hackland Hill at around 35m above OD. The monument was first scheduled in 1936, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present rescheduling rectifies this.

The scheduled area is rectangular on plan, measuring 53m SW to NE and 40m transversely. The scheduled area includes the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to 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 understanding of burial and funerary practices in Bronze Age Orkney. Earthen barrows form an important and relatively widespread element of Orkney's Bronze Age landscape, and provide evidence for the major social and economic changes which took place during this period. Seven Knowes is particularly notable because it comprises a tight cluster of seven barrows of smaller than average size, which makes it an unusual barrow cemetery. Excavation has demonstrated high levels of preservation of mortuary structures and burials, as well as the presence of pottery and stone tools, which may have symbolised connections between life and death. The significance of Seven Knowes is enhanced by its association with other barrow mounds and Bronze Age sites on marginal land nearby. Our understanding of the form, function and distribution of Bronze Age barrows in Orkney would be diminished if this monument were to be lost or damaged.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as HY32SE 8.

References

Downes, J 1997, The Orkney Barrows Project survey results and management strategy. Unpublished report to Historic Scotland. ARCUS, University of Sheffield.

Downes, J 1998, 'Seven Knowes, Glitterpitten (Evie & Rendall parish), survey and excavation of burial mounds', Discovery Excav Scot, 70.

Downes, J 1999, 'Orkney Barrows Project', Current Archaeology, 165, 324-327.

RCAHMS 1946, The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Twelfth report with an inventory of the ancient monuments of Orkney and Shetland, 3v Edinburgh, 82, no 279.

Towrie, S 2013, 'The Knowes o' Trotty', http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/knowestrotty/> [accessed August 2013].

Source: Historic Environment Scotland