Description

The monument comprises the remains of a well-preserved burnt mound, dating probably from the Bronze Age (between 2000 and 800 BC). It survives as a substantial crescent-shaped grass-covered mound, measuring approximately 15m in diameter and standing over 1m high. It is composed mainly of accumulated burnt stones and other burnt material. On the SW side of the mound is an exposed and partly excavated, stone-built structure or chamber, with burnt stone accumulated around it. The chamber is built of upright slabs and drystone walling. It is rectangular, measuring 2.6m by 3.4m transversely, and is 0.8m deep. To the SW a narrow entrance passage, approximately 3m long, leads to the edge of the mound. A stone-built trough is located outside the chamber, next to the entrance. Inside the structure, the remains of a rectangular raised hearth are visible on the NE wall, opposite the entrance. To the NW of this is a roofed alcove or cell, recessed into the wall, which measures 0.85m by 0.7m and is 0.85m high. The mound is situated on low-lying boggy ground, immediately N of an unnamed burn. It is located some 420m inland from the W coast of Rousay, at around 20m above sea level. The monument was originally scheduled in 1935, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

The scheduled area is circular on plan, measuring 30m in diameter, to include 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 it has an inherent potential to contribute to our understanding of the past, in particular, the dating, form and function of burnt mounds and their placing within the landscape. This is a well-preserved example of its type, with the confirmed presence of associated structures, including a sophisticated building with a hearth and a water trough. Its proximity to several other burnt mounds in Quendal (such as those at Knowe of Dale, Tafts and Quoylonga Ness) adds to its potential to enhance our understanding of burnt mounds as components of the wider prehistoric landscape in Orkney. The loss of this monument would impede our ability to understand the origins, functions and development of burnt mounds and the nature of prehistoric society and economy in Orkney.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as HY33SE 7.

References

Anthony, I 2003, Luminescence Dating of Scottish Burnt Mounds: New Investigations in Orkney and Shetland, Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Glasgow.

Armit, I and Braby, A 2002, 'Excavation of a burnt mound and associated structures at Ceann nan Clachan, North Uist', Proc Soc Antiq Scot 132, 229-58.

Hedges, J 1975, 'Excavation of two Orcadian burnt mounds at Liddle and Beaquoy', Proc Soc Antiq Scot 106, 39-98.

Lee, D 2008, Quandale, Rousay: The biography of a landscape: An interpretive landscape survey (unpubl MA thesis, Orkney College).

Moore, H and Wilson, G 1999, 'Food for Thought: a survey of burnt mounds of Shetland and excavations at Tangwick', Proc Soc Antiq Scot 129, 211-30.

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, 226, no 595.

RCAHMS 1982, The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The archaeological sites and monuments of Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre, Orkney Islands Area, The archaeological sites and monuments of Scotland series 16, Edinburgh, 21, no 65.

ScARF, 2013, 3.3.1 'Burnt Mounds', The Scottish Archaeological Research Framework website, .

Toolis, R 2005, 'Excavation of a burnt mound at Meur, Sanday, Orkney', Scottish Archaeol J 29(1).

Topping, P 2011, Introduction to Heritage Assets: Burnt Mounds, English Heritage, UK.

Towrie, S 2013, 'A Brief History of Orkney - The Bronze Age', .

Source: Historic Environment Scotland