Lamb Holm Settlement 450m WSW of Italian Chapel Holm, Scotland
Scheduled Monument Data
Lamb Holm Settlement 450m WSW of Italian Chapel has been designated a scheduled monument in Scotland with the following information. Please note that not all available data may be shown here, minor errors and/or formatting may have occurred during transcription, and some information may have become outdated since scheduling.
- Historic Scotland ID
- SM0
- Name
- Lamb Holm, settlement 450m WSW of Italian Chapel
- Parish
- Holm
- County
- Orkney Islands
- Easting
- 348408
- Northing
- 1000510
- Categories
- Prehistoric domestic and defensive: house
- Date Listed
- 17 November 1995
Scheduled Monument Description
Text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.
The monument consists of the remains of a prehistoric settlement which is beginning to appear in an eroding coastal section on the shore of St Mary's Bay.
Traces of walling, including part of the outer face of the wall of an oval house and what may be one jamb of its dooorway, lie immediately above the high-water mark, extending for about 40m. The house wall stands to nine courses of drystone masonry, just under 1m high, and extends for over 6m. The house beyond appears to survive intact at present.
On the visual evidence, it is not possible to ascribe a date to the house, which could equally well be Neolithic (like Skara Brae) or Iron Age (like houses around brochs, for example Gurness). It is unlikely to be Norse or later.
The area to be scheduled is rectangular, oriented parallel to the shore, and measures 80m NNE-SSW by 45m, to include all of the visible remains and an area around them in which it is likely further archaeological deposits and structures survive, as marked in red on the accompanying map.
Scheduled Monument Statement of Significance
Text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.
The monument is of national importance as a recently-discovered settlement site of prehistoric date which appears to have suffered little from marine erosion, and which has walling surviving to an unusually good degree. Whatever the exact date of the monument, it has a high potential for providing information about past architecture, settlement structure and domestic economy. The monument is proposed for scheduling because of its quality and also to emphasise the need for positive action, either through management of erosion or through excavation, to ensure that its potential is not lost.
Scheduled Monument References
Text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.
RCAHMS records the monument as HY40SE 34.
