Description

The monument is an enclosure, very probably a henge (a ritual and ceremonial monument), dating to the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age (the late third or early second millennium BC). It survives as a circular enclosure measuring approximately 60m in diameter in total, defined by an inner bank, an outer ditch and an intermittent outer bank. The inner bank is 3m wide and survives to a height of 0.3-0.6m. It encloses an internal area measuring 45m WNW-ESE by 40m transversely. No entrances are visible. The ditch varies in width from 1.5m in the SW to around 13m in the ENE. On the E and NE sides, the ditch is water-filled and forms a series of ponds which may be a product of later re-working. The outer bank is 2m-5m in width. It is most visible around the southern part of the enclosure and fades out on the E side. The monument is situated on the low-lying hilltop of Staney Hill at 50m above OD, with views to the SW over the Lochs of Harray and Stenness and towards the Ring of Brodgar. The W side of the monument has been bisected by a minor public road.

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 scheduling specifically excludes the top 30cm of the road surface and the above-ground elements of an electricity pole and all post-and-wire fences to allow for their routine maintenance.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because it has inherent potential to make a significant contribution to our understanding of the past, particularly the design and construction of ritual and ceremonial monuments and the nature of belief systems in late Neolithic and early Bronze Age Orkney. Staney Hill is one of only four certain or potential henges recorded in Orkney, all of them located close to the Lochs of Harray and Stenness and within an area internationally recognised for its outstanding heritage of Neolithic monuments. Although no evidence of an entrance or causeway is visible on the ground surface, the bank and ditch features at Staney Hill are characteristic of henge sites - and show particularly clearly on aerial photographs. Given the absence of recorded antiquarian or modern archaeological investigation, there is significant potential for the monument to preserve buried archaeology in the interior and in the ditch and banks. Henges are rare across Scotland and provide a unique and important source of evidence for human belief and ritual activities during early prehistory. The loss of the monument would significantly diminish our ability to appreciate and understand the meaning and importance of ritual and ceremony in prehistoric times and the placing of such monuments within the landscape.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

Other informationRCAHMS records the site as HY31NW 114.

ReferencesBradley, R 2011, Stages and screens: an investigation of four henge monuments in northern and north-eastern Scotland, Edinburgh.

Dye, J 2009, 'Henge': modern perceptions of ancient monuments (unpub dissertation for MA Archaeological Practice, Orkney College).

Ritchie, A 1996, Exploring Scotland's Heritage: Orkney and Shetland, Edinburgh.

Canmore

https://canmore.org.uk/site/307249/

Source: Historic Environment Scotland