Work happening without consent

It is against the law to undertake works to a scheduled monument or metal detect on it without our permission. We call this unauthorised works. It is a Heritage Crime.

• If you see someone damaging a scheduled monument, contact Police Scotland on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111

• If damage has already taken place, you can contact Historic Environment Scotland by emailing report@hes.scot

• If you want to remain anonymous, call Crimestopppers on 0800 555 111

Find out more about scheduled monuments

Scheduled monuments are archaeological and historic sites of national importance. The protections for scheduled monuments are set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. This strong protection reflects how much people value the historic environment and how important scheduled monuments are.

HES gives permission for works at scheduled monuments through a process called scheduled monument consent (SMC). We investigate, and seek to resolve, any works that happen without our permission. We call this process compliance.

The compliance process

Works are defined as any activity that damages, destroys, demolishes, removes, repairs, alters, or adds to a scheduled monument. This includes flooding and tipping operations. It is an offence to carry out, cause, or permit these works without SMC.

Using a metal detector within a scheduled monument without our permission is also an offence.

Damaging archaeological sites that do not have the protection outlined above may not be a crime, but you should contact your local authority's archaeology service for more information. Contact details are available from The Scottish Historic Records Forum.

Local Authority archaeology contacts

We will investigate reports as quickly as possible. First, we will contact the owner of the monument, and anyone else who might be involved, to let them know what is happening.

If works are ongoing, we can serve a Temporary Stop Notice forcing works to stop.

You can find out more about how we pursue and enforce compliance with the Act in our Compliance and Enforcement at Scheduled Monuments guide.