Scheduled MonumentsScotlandBillia Fiold, enclosures, platforms and banks
Post-Medieval · Enclosures, platforms and banks

Billia Fiold, enclosures, platforms and banks

Scotland
HES SM13448
Period
Post-Medieval
Site type
Enclosures, platforms and banks
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland

Overview

History & significance

Billia Fiold is a post-medieval complex of enclosures, platforms and banks located in Orkney, Scotland. The site comprises a series of field divisions and terraced structures typical of agricultural improvement during the 17th to 18th centuries, when Orkney's farming landscape was substantially reorganised. The platforms and banks would have facilitated stock management and crop cultivation across terrain that required considerable modification to become productive.

The monument sits upon Lower Old Red Sandstone bedrock, formed during the Early Devonian period, comprising conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. This underlying geology influenced both the construction methods used on site and the drainage characteristics of the enclosures, shaping how the landscape was worked and managed during the post-medieval period.

The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM13448. Billia Fiold represents an important phase in Orkney's agricultural history, when landowners invested in systematic landscape remodelling to improve the efficiency and yield of their estates during the early modern period.

Billia Fiold, enclosures, platforms and banks is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13448. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Billia Fiold, enclosures, platforms and banks?

Billia Fiold is a post-medieval complex of enclosures, platforms and banks located in Orkney, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13448.

What period does Billia Fiold, enclosures, platforms and banks date from?

Billia Fiold, enclosures, platforms and banks dates from the post-medieval period, and is classified as a enclosures, platforms and banks. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Billia Fiold, enclosures, platforms and banks?

Billia Fiold, enclosures, platforms and banks is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM13448.

What other scheduled monuments are near Billia Fiold, enclosures, platforms and banks?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Burn of Selta, farmsteads, field system and associated remains (2.5 km), Brockan, burnt mound 300m S of (5.3 km), Diamond Cottage,defended promontory N of (5.5 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Billia Fiold, enclosures, platforms and banks

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Billia Fiold, enclosures, platforms and banks's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Billia Fiold, enclosures, platforms and banks

Billia Fiold, enclosures, platforms and banks stands on Lower Old Red Sandstone, bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.

The wider landscape

Around Billia Fiold, enclosures, platforms and banks

Skara BraeArchaeological site · ~2.4 milesRing of BrodgarArchaeological site · ~3.7 miles