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.

• Type

  Legal Documents

  Title

  SM9763_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600013597)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of what appears to be a small fortification set on a detached rock stack at the SW tip of the island of Stroma.

The stack on which the fortification sits is sheer-sided and there is no surviving sign of a former land-bridge connecting it to the larger island. Its top slopes down from ESE (adjacent Stroma) to WNW, and the remains of the structure are on the higher, eastern, end.

They consist of a length of drystone (or possibly clay-bonded) masonry running along the SE side of the cliff edge, with a shorter stretch at right angles on the NE side. The latter stands up to 1.5m high. The NW and SW sides of the stack, which are more exposed to the open sea, are grassed over and do not show any masonry. If the structure's plan was ever a complete rectangle, it would have measured about 5m NW-SE by 8m externally.

The exact nature, purpose and date of this monument are impossible to define with precision, but its extremely exposed location suggests some dedicated or desparate purpose. It may be a later prehistoric fort or an early ecclesiastical establishment, perhaps a hermitage, but it is most probably an unrecorded minor medieval fortification. There is no known associated tradition or history.

The area to be scheduled consists of the entire top of the stack, an irregular sloping area of ground about 30m NW-SE by 15m, to include the remains described and an area to seaward of them in which associated remains are likely to survive. The area is marked in red on the accompanying map extract.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as an unexplained but potentially important survival of human use of a remarkably exposed location. It is most probably a cliff-castle in the Norse-medieval tradition of the Northern and Western Isle, but this identification is by no means certain.

References

Bibliography

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).

The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.

Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.

Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.