Description

The monument is a burial cairn dating probably to the Bronze Age (between about 2000 BC and 800 BC). It comprises a large circular, flat-topped mound of earth and stone measuring approximately 30m in diameter overall and standing up to 3m high. The top of the cairn is around 12m in diameter and slightly concave, indicating that there may have been some investigation in the past. The mound is enclosed within a modern stone retaining wall and has mature trees growing over its surface. The monument is situated in a prominent location atop Dickmount Law, at around 95m above sea level, with extensive views in all directions. The monument was first scheduled in 1969, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

The scheduled area is circular on plan, measuring 36m 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. The scheduling specifically excludes two modern memorials placed on top of the cairn and the above-ground elements of all modern field boundaries to allow for their continued maintenance.

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 the past, particularly the design and construction of burial monuments, and the nature of belief systems and burial practices during the Bronze Age in Angus. Ritual and funerary monuments are often our main source of evidence for human activity in the Bronze Age in Scotland. They are particularly important for enhancing our understanding of Bronze Age society, its organisation, economy, religion and demography. Despite some possible disturbance in the past, this cairn survives to a significant degree, allowing interpretation of its original form and position in the landscape. It retains high potential for the presence of buried archaeological remains, including burials, artefacts and palaeoenvironmental evidence. This example is of particular interest because of its siting in such a prominent hilltop location: it would have been clearly visible from far afield and has extensive views in all directions. The loss of the monument would significantly diminish our future ability to appreciate and understand funerary practice, death and burial in prehistoric times, and the placing of such monuments within the landscape.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

Other Information

RCAHMS records the monument as NO64SE 1. The Angus Sites and Monuments Record records the monument as NO64SE0001.

References

Coutts, H 1970, Ancient monuments of Tayside, Dundee, 9, 11.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland