Description

The monument comprises a well-preserved burnt mound, dating probably to the Bronze Age (between about 2000 and 800 BC). It survives as a substantial crescent-shaped grass-covered mound, measuring approximately 16m NW-SE by 12m transversely and standing up to 1m high. It is composed mainly of accumulated burnt stones and other burnt material. The crescent-shaped mound is open on its SW side, where a low depression may contain associated structures, such as a hearth and trough. The mound is situated on low-lying boggy ground, immediately E of the Burn of Tafts. It is located some 570m inland from the W coast of Rousay, at around 30m above sea level.

The scheduled area is circular on plan, measuring 40m in diameter, as shown in red on the accompanying map. It 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.

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 and its proximity to several other substantial burnt mounds (such as the Knowe of Dale and the burnt mound at Lower Quandale, both less than 1km distant) gives it added 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, function and development of burnt mounds and the nature of later prehistoric society and economy in Orkney.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

Other informationRCAHMS records the monument as HY33SE 8.

ReferencesAnthony, I 2003, Luminescence Dating of Scottish Burnt Mounds: New Investigations in Orkney and Shetland, unpub PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

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, unpub MA thesis, Orkney College.

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 596.

ScARF, 2013, 3.3.1 'Burnt Mounds', The Scottish Archaeological Research Framework website, http://www.scottishheritagehub.com/content/331-burnt-mounds.

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.

Towrie, S 2013, 'A Brief History of Orkney - The Bronze Age', http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/bronzeage.htm.

Canmore

https://canmore.org.uk/site/2319/

Source: Historic Environment Scotland