Burrody's Hill Enclosed Settlement Orkney Islands, Scotland, UK

Scheduled Monument Description

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

The monument comprises the remains of an enclosed prehistoric settlement dating probably to the Bronze Age or early Iron Age (sometime between about 1500 and 200 BC). The site is clearly visible on oblique aerial photographs as an oval enclosure measuring about 50m ESE to WNW by 40m transversely. The enclosure is defined by a low earthen bank, with two possible entrances to the WSW and SE. Concentrations of large stones are visible in places, particularly around the possible WSW entrance. Undulations in the interior ground surface may indicate the scooped sites of houses and other structures. A ditch runs across the NW of the enclosure. The monument is situated on the SW slopes of Burrody's Hill at around 60m above sea level and has wide views overlooking lower-lying arable land to the W, S and E.

The scheduled area is oval on plan with maximum dimensions of 95m NW-SE by 85m transversely, to include 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 scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground elements of a post-and-wire fence which runs across the E edge 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 the inherent potential to make a significant contribution to our understanding of the past, in particular settlement, social organisation, agricultural practices and economy in prehistoric Orkney. There is good potential for the survival of important archaeological deposits and palaeoenvironmental evidence within the enclosure bank and interior that can inform our understanding of the chronology and function of this site and the environment in Orkney during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age. The enclosure bank is clearly visible on aerial photographs and survives as an upstanding feature in the field. The survival of prehistoric upland rural settlement is rare in an Orkney context, which makes this site particularly significant. Its loss would affect our ability to understand Bronze Age and later upland rural settlement and land-use in Orkney and further afield, and the significant changes in rural settlement that occurred as the climate changed in northern Scotland.

Scheduled Monument References

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

RCAHMS records the monument as HY40SE81: this site was recorded from the air in 2010.