Description

The monument consists of the remains of a small prehistoric farm, represented by the foundations of one house and remains of field

walls.

The house survives as an oval foundation of large stones, some 10.0m by 7.5m, with its entrance facing NE and looking downslope. Outside the entrance is a line of large boulders, perhaps a windbreak for the door. A small oval field, bounded by a boulder wall, lies 25m to the NE, and there are other stretches of field walling visible below the peat to the N and W.

The area to be scheduled is an irregular oval, cut by the public road, which is excluded, together with its verges and fences. The modern fence which forms a small part of the NE boundary is also excluded from scheduling. The area to be scheduled is marked in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as an unusually small example of a single-house prehistoric farming settlement in a rather unpromising north-east facing location. The location and scale of the fields suggests that this settlement was at the lower end of economic viability, and it provides an interesting comparison to set alongside the much more extensive (and by inference more successful) settlements in West Mainland Shetland, such as Scord of Brouster, Pinhoulland or Ness of Guting.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as HU35NW 5.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland