Description

The monument is the remains of an unenclosed settlement dating to between 1800 BC and AD 400. The settlement lies buried beneath the ploughsoil and is visible as cropmarks captured on oblique aerial photographs. The monument lies at about 20m above sealevel on a slight ridge of higher ground close to the south shore of the Moray Firth.

Numerous dark crescent- and disc-shaped marks indicate the locations of at least nine densely grouped roundhouses, some immediately adjacent to and overlying one another, probably representing structures of different dates. The roundhouses measure approximately 13m to 14m in diameter.

The scheduled area is circular on plan measuring 100m in diameter, and 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, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The monument was first scheduled in 2007, but the area did not cover all of the monument: the present amendment rectifies this.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a dense concentration of roundhouses with high potential to make a significant addition to our knowledge and understanding of prehistoric rural settlement and economy in Scotland. The number and density of structures preserved here is rare and the dark crescent- and disc-shaped marks indicate the presence of relatively deep and robust remains, with potential to retain well-preserved structural features, archaeological deposits and environmental evidence. The monument offers high potential to compare settlement form, function and character over a long time period and its importance is enhanced by its association with other unenclosed settlements and enclosures on the banks of the Moray Firth. Our understanding of the distribution and character of later prehistoric settlements would be diminished if this monument was to be lost or damaged.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

Aerial photographs accessible through CANMORE: http://canmore.org.uk/ CANMORE ID 14214

Aerial photographs:

RCAHMS 1977 IN 3092; IN 3093; IN 3094.

RCAHMS 1992: C64; C65; C66; C67; C68.

RCAHMS 1995: C 53596; C 53595; C 98288 CS; C 98283; C 53590; C 53591; C 53592; C 98280 CS; C 98281 CS; C 98282 CS; C 53592 S.

Highland Council HER/SMR Reference: MHG2937

References:

RCAHMS 1979, The archaeological sites and monuments of north-east Inverness, Inverness District, Highland Region. The archaeological sites and monuments of Scotland series No. 8, Edinburgh, 19, No. 125.

Tolan M 1988, Pit circles in Scotland: some possible interpretations, bound transcript: dissertation presented to the University of Newcastle, January 1988, 69, Nos. 10-11.

Canmore

https://canmore.org.uk/site/14214/

HER/SMR Reference

http://her.highland.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MHG2937

Source: Historic Environment Scotland