| FOGS News Volume XI number 2 vernal equinox 2000 |
|
| Holding the Fort |
| WINTER provides a magnificent opportunity for study and photography of our ancient monuments, but it |
| also allows closer inspection of any damage which has occurred. We are particularly aware of ever- |
| encroaching 'progress' and of potential alteration to the land left us in trust by our ancestors. Current |
| farming practice, while generally not too threatening to 'scheduled' antiquities, thinks nothing of bulldozing |
| and burying 18th century drystane dykes whose stones were gathered so laboriously as necessary |
| enclosures in times before barbed wire. How soon will the NE landscape become one without stone |
| altogether, a place of billboards and development signs and barbed wire fences? |
|
| OUR worries on this score may be needless, if those who heed our warnings act promptly and deal with |
| the miscreants. But recent activities in this corner of Scotland do not indicate a general tendency towards |
| conservation and respect for the past. Rather is it a current theme in agricultural business to 'make the |
| most' of a loophole in legislation and make a profit from an endless round of grants and subsidies; and for |
| those in charge of our heritage to let them. |
|
| TO clarify the situation: Antiquities and heritage in stone are now in Scotland under the protection of the |
| Scottish Executive, with 'operational responsibility for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage' in the hands |
| of Historic Scotland - the north-of-the-border equivalent of English Heritage. The offices of this executive |
| arm are in Edinburgh, at Longmore House, Salisbury Place EH9 1SH, telephone 0131-668 8777. It has |
| jurisdiction over 7,000 scheduled monuments in Scotland and is essentially in charge of deciding which |
| monuments countrywide meet the criteria for 'national importance'. If an ancient site is considered worthy, |
| it is added to the List of Scheduled Monuments. If not, it is not. As a government agency, it is by its own |
| remit, only able to prosecute those who are caught doing damage to a scheduled antiquity. Damage or |
| defacement of 'unscheduled' stones is not their concern. In a recent letter to FOGS, Historic Scotland |
| reminded us that 'the responsibility for keeping monuments in good order lies with owners.' This was |
| probably safe in the hands of farming proprietors who took pride in maintaining boundary walls, |
| shelterbelt planting and wildlife conservation. Stones were an organic part of that landscape. |
|
| BUT land changes hands. |
|
| AND in certain areas, backed by our so-called 'public servants', interest is now in how much farmland |
| can be turned over for housing, or if retained for agricultural practice, how much more land can be brought |
| under the plough or is eligible for a forestry planting grant. Half a century of blanket forestry planting by a |
| single agency has shown how much damage occurs to antiquities either in root growth or in logging mature |
| trees. Yet, the responsibility for such monuments lies with owners. |
|
| SINCE the acquisition in 1991 by Historic Scotland of the responsibilities previously shouldered by |
| Historic Buildings & Monuments and, before that, by the Ministry of Works, a laudable 50% has been |
| added to the number of scheduled monuments. However, the Northeast, with by far the largest number of |
| antiquities in Scotland, has protection of only a fraction of the national total (16%), and only one warden |
| assigned to an area half the size of Switzerland. She cannot possibly visit all the monuments in her charge |
| more than once in five years. |
|
| IN a letter from the First Minister to a colleague who questioned, in support of FOGS, whether enough |
| was being done, the Rt. Hon. Donald Dewar MP indicated he felt coverage was 'adequate'. However in |
| light of the bureaucratic nod given to a track dredged through woodland in Durris to create a 4WD off-road |
| playground - thereby damaging an unscheduled 4000-year old monument without penalty or legal |
| consequences - we are not convinced. Activity in the arena has speeded up. In this climate it is a short step |
| to losing sight of the picture altogether. If owners themselves are becoming seduced by profit margins, who |
| but FOGS will still be around to hold high the banner or guard the fort? |
|
| N.E. heritage projects. . . |
|
| Tomnaverie stone circle |
| TWO seasons of excavation are planned for this recumbent stone circle at NJ 486 034 on outskirts of |
| Tarland, led by Richard Bradley with a team from the University of Reading, assisted by FOGS member |
| Ken Cooper and Tarland branch of Cromar History Group. Prior to work commencing, a survey revealed |
| a number of possible cupmarks on neighbouring boulders and bedrock. Besides removal of the two flanking |
| monoliths away from the edge of the encroaching quarry, the rest of the circle, including its recumbent, |
| central ring-cairn and levelled platform, seem relatively intact. FOGS has heard that local enthusiasm to |
| restore the site includes re-filling the quarry, and we await with interest the outcome of the Bradley team's |
| findings from the first season, part of which may be available at our AGM. Following exhaustive |
| investigation, it is hoped to create a solution to interpreting & displaying the monument , with improved |
| access to its mound; thus providing many more visitors an opportunity to be inspired by this dramatic site |
| with its sunset view of Lochnagar. |
|
| Dunnydeer burial complex? |
| OUR dowsing flight captain, FOGS member Peter Donaldson, now promoted to flying a desk, has spent |
| many hours over the winter on the slopes of Dunnydeer above Insch plotting remains of what appear to be |
| a series of structures in proximity to the stone circle at NJ 608 284 over Dead Man's Howe & the valley |
| of the Shevock burn. While his findings are not yet in report form, he is convinced that there are cist-like |
| objects in the rough pasture S of the circle, with possibile circular hut foundations. Those with email access |
| may request his interim plan and conclusions from donaldson.meikle@virgin.net - while the rest of us await |
| his full report with interest. |
