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Burn of Selta is a post-medieval farmsteads, field system and associated remains located in Orkney, Scotland. The site comprises multiple farmsteads arranged across the landscape with their attendant field boundaries and ancillary structures, representing the agricultural settlement pattern of the early modern period in the Northern Isles. The monuments survive as earthwork features and surface scatters that record the daily working life of farming communities from the 16th century onwards.
The site lies upon Middle Old Red Sandstone bedrock formed during the Middle Devonian period, a geology composed of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone that characterises much of Orkney's underlying strata. This durable stone would have been quarried locally for the construction of farm buildings and field walls that define the settlement landscape. The varied lithology of the bedrock influenced both the character of the structures built and the drainage patterns affecting the adjacent arable land.
Burn of Selta is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM13419. The site preserves evidence of the settlement and land-use practices that sustained Orkney's rural economy during the post-medieval period, offering insights into the organisation of farming communities and their relationship with the distinctive landscape of the Northern Isles.
Burn of Selta, farmsteads, field system and associated remains is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13419. View the official record →
Burn of Selta is a post-medieval farmsteads, field system and associated remains located in Orkney, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13419.
Burn of Selta, farmsteads, field system and associated remains dates from the post-medieval period, and is classified as a farmsteads, field system and associated remains. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Burn of Selta, farmsteads, field system and associated remains 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 SM13419.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including East Bigging, burnt mound 390m S of (2.2 km), Billia Fiold, enclosures, platforms and banks (2.5 km), Brockan, burnt mound 300m S of (3.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Burn of Selta, farmsteads, field system and associated remains's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Burn of Selta, farmsteads, field system and associated remains stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.