Lower Cornquoy Barrow 225m SSE of, Holm Orkney Islands, Scotland, UK

Scheduled Monument Description

© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.

The monument is the remains of a Bronze Age barrow dating probably to the 2nd millennium BC. Its unusual field characteristics suggest it is an example of a disc barrow, which is a rare form of barrow, particularly in Scotland. This example survives as grass-covered earthen remains, with a central low mound or platform measuring approximately 8m in diameter, surrounded by a low bank and an external ditch. The overall diameter of the barrow is approximately 19.2m including external banks. The bank measures up to 2.2m wide and 0.3m high and the external ditch is approximately 1.5m wide and 0.2m deep. It is likely that the central platform would have contained one or more burials. These elements are well-defined on the NW, SW and NE sides, but the form of the monument has been disturbed by later activity on the SE arc. The monument is situated on relatively low-lying level ground at the southern tip of Mainland, at around 10m above sea level. The monument was originally scheduled in 1995, but the scheduled area was inaccurate: the present amendment rectifies this.

The scheduled area is roughly rectangular in plan 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 scheduled area extends up to, but does not include, the post-and-wire fences and gates on the NE and SE sides of the monument.

Scheduled Monument Statement of Significance

© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.

The monument is of national importance as it has an inherent potential to contribute to our understanding of the form, function and distribution of Bronze Age barrows, an important part of Orkney's Bronze Age landscape. It can make a significant addition to our understanding of the past, particularly the design and construction of Bronze Age burial monuments, the nature of burial practices, and their significance in prehistoric and later society. The evidence such sites hold pertaining to burial practices in the Bronze Age is important to the interpretation of Bronze Age society, as they often provide the main material evidence for this period in Scotland. The barrow at Cornquoy is particularly important as a well-preserved barrow with rare and distinctive field characteristics, more commonly associated with the ritual and funerary landscapes of Wessex. It therefore has the potential to add to our understanding of different burial forms and practices during the Bronze Age and the reasons behind this. The loss of this monument would significantly diminish our future ability to appreciate and understand the placing of such monuments within the landscape and the meaning and importance of death and burial in prehistoric times.

Scheduled Monument References

© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.

RCAHMS records the monument as ND59NW 5.

References

Downes, J 1995, 'Linga Fold', Current Archaeology 142, 396-399.

Downes, J 1997, The Orkney Barrows Project survey results and management strategy. Unpublished report to Historic Scotland. ARCUS, University of Sheffield.

Hedges, M E 1978-80, 'Short cists recently excavated at Lower Ellibister and other locations in Orkney', Proc Soc Antiq Scot 110, 44-71.

RCAHMS 1946, The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Twelfth report with an inventory of the ancient monuments of Orkney and Shetland, 3v, Edinburgh, no 280, 82.

Towrie, S 2013, The Knowes o' Trotty, http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/knowestrotty/ [accessed August 2013].