Description

The monument comprises the buried remains of a henge, a form of ritual or ceremonial monument dating to the later Neolithic or early Bronze Age periods (around 3000-1500BC). It is visible as a slight, broadly circular, earthwork consisting of an external bank and internal ditch. The monument lies in an area of relatively flat coastal pasture close to the confluence of the River Shiel and the Allt Coire Uaine where they drain into the southeastern shore of Loch Duich, at about 10m above sea level.

The henge is defined by a continuous external bank and internal ditch which encloses a central space measuring about 8.5m in diameter. The ditch is around 1.8m wide and 0.2m deep, while the bank around 4m wide and 0.2m high. The ditch is not continuous with infilled sections in two areas. The eastern infilled section is about 2m wide with rounded ditch terminals suggesting it is an original causeway feature. The western section, facing Loch Duich, is narrower (about 1.7m) and has more angular ditch terminals suggesting that it is a later alteration. 

The scheduled area is a circular, measuring 28m in diameter, centred on the centre of the monument. It includes the remains described above and an area around within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. 

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The national importance of the monument is demonstrated in the following way(s) (see Designations Policy and Selection Guidance, Annex 1, para 17):  

a.  The monument is of national importance because it makes a significant contribution to our understanding or appreciation of the past or has the potential to do so. This henge is an important indicator of prehistoric activity in this region of Scotland during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age periods. The monument can help us understand more about prehistoric society and the nature of ceremony, ritual and belief systems. 

b.   The monument retains structural attributes which make a significant contribution to our understanding or appreciation of the past. The monument survives as an earthwork structure. There is good potential for the survival of archaeological and ecofactual evidence within the ditch fills and in the interior and exterior areas of the monument. The monument can significantly add to our understanding of the meaning and importance of ritual in the Neolithic period. 

c.  The monument is a rare example of a henge with a probable continuous outer bank. The continuous bank may indicate a modification of the monument in prehistory, as the bank could have been extended in prehistory to block the entrance.

e.   The monument has considerable research potential which could contribute to our understanding or appreciation of the past. It can tell us about the character, development and use of ritual sites, and the nature of prehistoric society, economy and social hierarchy in this area of Scotland and further afield. Further research and investigation of the surviving buried remains have the potential to explain the character and chronology of this site. Such a chronological explanation may help to inform our understanding of the development of similar prehistoric sites across Scotland. 

Assessment of Cultural Significance

This statement of national importance has been informed by the following assessment of cultural significance:

Intrinsic characteristics (how the remains of a site or place contribute to our knowledge of the past)

The monument survives as a slight, broadly circular, earthwork defined by an outer bank and inner ditch. The bank appears to be continuous with no evidence of accompanying entrance gaps, although the slightness of bank makes this difficult to confirm. The continuous bank could be due to the extension of the bank to block the entrance, thereby indicating modification of the monument in prehistory. There are two causeways across the ditch, one of which appears to be a later alteration, with the ditch having angular terminals rather than being rounded. Rounded terminals would be more typical of a henge and can be seen at the other causeway. 

Henge monuments are typically circular or sub-circular on plan defined by an external bank and internal ditch arrangement. Dating evidence indicates they were built during the late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age and they often had long development sequences, with multiple phases of use. They are sites of ritual significance and typically provide evidence of prehistoric ceremonial practices. Archaeological investigation of these types of monuments has confirmed that significant archaeological and environmental evidence can survive in the buried layers – deposits and artefacts such as pottery, flints and animal bone as well as botanical remains create an important overall assemblage. The surviving ditch, causeway, interior and exterior space indicate significant potential for the survival of archaeological deposits and environmental materials such as charcoal or pollen.

There is, therefore, the potential for the survival of evidence for the form, function, development, modification and use of this ritual site over time, as well as environmental evidence that can help with reconstruction of what the local area may have looked like when the monument was built and in use. The monument and associated archaeological deposits can help us understand much about prehistoric life - the lives, contacts, beliefs and practices of the people who built and used it, the events and ceremonies that took place here, and the phases of use and re-use. Study of the monument's form and construction process compared with similar monuments would enhance our understanding of the development sequence of this site and the class of monument in general.

Contextual characteristics (how a site or place relates to its surroundings and/or to our existing knowledge of the past)

The monument belongs to a group of prehistoric ceremonial monuments which have been variously classed as henges, mini henges, henge monuments and hengi-form monuments. Researchers have indicated the difficulties in these over-simplified terms. However, the general use of the term 'henge' remains helpful in distinguishing a monument whose primary purpose is for ceremony and ritual events as opposed to settlement / domestic / agricultural or similar activity.

Henges are a relatively uncommon class of monument across Scotland with approximately 90 examples recorded in the National Record of the Historic Environment. Many are located in fertile agricultural land and survive as buried features, visible as cropmarks in aerial imagery. 

The known distribution of henge monuments is generally in southern, eastern and northern Scotland, although further examples are known in Argyll, Isle of Skye and the Orkney Islands. This example is therefore an outlier in the general distribution. However, several east coast henges known as the Easter Ross Group (around 40km away) share the same continuous bank feature. These include: Culbokie (scheduled monument reference SM1668, Trove UID 12776), Conon Bridge (scheduled monument reference SM1666, Trove UID 12781), Muir of Ord (SM1665, Trove UID 12670) and Achilty Henge (SM1667, Trove UID 12470). 

Researchers indicate that the positioning of these monuments is carefully planned to take advantage of natural features, routeways, views and natural resources. This example is positioned in a wet, low-lying location, close to Loch Duich and the end of Glen Shiel, an important routeway eastward through the mountains of Kintail. 

Associative characteristics (how a site or place relates to people, events, and/or historic and social movements)

We are not aware of any associative characteristics that contribute to the monument's national importance.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

Historic Environment Scotland https://www.trove.scot/place/12002 (accessed on 20/05/2025).

Bradley, R. (2011) Stages and Screens, An investigation of four henge monuments in northern and north-eastern Scotland. Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

Childe, V G.(1935) The prehistory of Scotland. London: Kegan Paul.

Fleming, A (1973) A henge monument at Shiel Bridge, Wester Ross, Scotland. Sheffield: University of Sheffield.

Harding and Lee, A F and G E. (1987) Henge monuments and related sites of Great Britain: air photographic evidence and catalogue in British Archaeological Rep, BAR, vol. 175, pp.373.

Woodham, A A (1952-3) Four henge monuments in Easter Ross in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquarians of Scotland Vol. 87, p.72-9

trove.scot

https://www.trove.scot/place/12002/

HER/SMR Reference

https://her.highland.gov.uk/Monument/MHG7461

Source: Historic Environment Scotland