Description

The monument is the remains of an unenclosed settlement dating to between 1800 BC and AD 400. The settlement lies buried beneath the topsoil and is visible as cropmarks captured on oblique aerial photographs. The monument includes the remains of at least three roundhouses, ranging in diameter from at least 14m to 20m. There are also underground structures known as souterrains, some of which appear to be associated with individual roundhouses. Other features include pits and four-post structures. The monument lies at about 20m OD just above the valley floor of the River South Esk.

The scheduled area 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 is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The monument was first scheduled in 1996, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

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 later prehistoric rural settlement in Scotland. It includes both roundhouses and souterrains that vary in size and form. It offers high potential to compare changing settlement form and character over time and to examine the functions of different building types. The monument's importance is enhanced by its association with the wider archaeological landscape of unenclosed settlements and funerary remains in the valley of the River South Esk. If this monument was to be lost or damaged, our understanding of the distribution and character of later prehistoric settlements would be diminished.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NO65NW 39. The Angus Sites and Monuments Record reference is NO66NW0039.

RCAHMS Aerial Photographs AN5643, AN5644, A30796

References

Maxwell, G S 1987 'Settlement in southern Pictland: A new overview', in Small, A, The Picts: A new look at old problems, 37. RCAHMS 1983 The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The archaeological sites and monuments of Central Angus, Angus District, Tayside Region, The archaeological sites and monuments of Scotland series no 18, Edinburgh, 34, no 277.

Canmore

https://canmore.org.uk/site/35752/

HER/SMR Reference

Angus SMR NO65NW0039

Source: Historic Environment Scotland