Scheduled Monument
Loch of Yarrows, standing stones and cairn 500m ESE of S end of lochSM505
Status: Designated
Documents
Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).
The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.
Summary
- Date Added
- 17/05/1939
- Last Date Amended
- 29/10/1999
- Supplementary Information Updated
- 23/05/2019
- Type
- Prehistoric ritual and funerary: cairn (type uncertain); standing stone
- Local Authority
- Highland
- Parish
- Wick
- NGR
- ND 31648 43091
- Coordinates
- 331648, 943091
Description
The monument comprises two standing stones and a circular cairn - ritual and funerary monuments of the Neolithic and Bronze ages. The standing stones were originally scheduled in 1939, but an inadequate area was defined for their protection; the current scheduling rectifies this, and incorporates the adjacent burial cairn.
The stones and cairn lie at approximately 135m OD, on a hill ridge overlooking Loch of Yarrows and Battle Moss, and standing on an artificial "island" of raised ground, created by peat cutting in the vicinity. They form a rough alignment running NW-SE with the stones to the N. The northernmost stone stands approximately 2.5m high, but is only c.0.5m wide by 0.3m thick. Situated about 10m to the S, the other stone is around 1.75m high, 0.5m wide and 0.3m thick. The area around the stones shows signs of antiquarian investigations during the last century: their digging did not produce any evidence of burials, but did reveal the substantial packing stones around the base of both standing stones.
The cairn, which lies approximately 30m to the SE, was also excavated by antiquarians during the 19th century, when a long cist containing human remains was found. No trace of the cist can be seen today, and the cairn survives as a circular turf and stone mound, approximately 10.5m in diameter and 0.5m high surmounted by modern stone dumping. Elements of the original walling can be seen near the base of the cairn.
The area to be scheduled is sub-oval in shape, measuring a maximum of 70m NW-SE by 30m, to cover the remains described above and an area around and between them where evidence relating to their construction and use may be expected to survive, as shown in red on the attached map extract.
References
Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation
About Scheduled Monuments
Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.
We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.
Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.
We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)
Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the
scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).
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