Description

The monument comprises the remains of at least fourteen barrows forming a barrow cemetery dating probably to the Bronze Age (between 2000 and 800 BC). All of the barrows are visible as upstanding monuments and survive as low, circular or sub-circular, turf-covered earthen mounds. The barrows form two distinct groups. The eastern group contains four mounds: a cluster of three barrows in close proximity and a fourth barrow some 40m to the NW. The western group is more dispersed and contains at least ten barrows stretched over a distance of some 180m NE-SW, of which three form a cluster at its eastern end. The mounds vary in size from 4m to 14m in diameter and stand between 0.1m and 1m in height. Several of them appear to have been partly investigated in antiquity and two cists were recorded in 1880, but are not visible today. The monument occupies E-facing sloping ground overlooking the Loch of Harray. The western group lies on a ridge at around 30m OD, with the eastern group at the bottom of the ridge at around 20m OD. The monument was first scheduled in 1956, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

The scheduling comprises two separate areas to cover the two groups of barrows. The easternmost is square in shape and the westernmost is triangular 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. The scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground elements of all post-and-wire fences to allow for their maintenance.

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. This example is particularly notable because it is a relatively large barrow cemetery, with at least fourteen barrows, in reasonable condition for this type of monument. Its significance is enhanced because it is part of a rich Bronze Age funerary landscape, including other barrow cemeteries at Midhouse and Linga Fold 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 HY21NE 7.

References

Downes, J 1995, 'Linga Fold', Current Archaeology 142, 396-399.

Downes, J 1997, The Orkney Barrows Project: survey results and management strategy (unpubl rep to Historic Scotland: ARCUS, University of Sheffield).

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

Hedges, M E 1976-7, 'The excavation of the Knowes of Quoyscottie, Orkney: a cemetery of the first millennium BC', Proc Soc Antiq Scot 108, 131-56.

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, 262-3, no 705.

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

Source: Historic Environment Scotland