When immovable heritage goes ambulatory: the Sheep Dyke of North Ronaldsay (Orkney) as an ‘organically evolving monument’

The Sheep Dyke of North Ronaldsay (Orkney) is a drystone wall classified as a Listed Building by Historic Environment Scotland (HES), which wavers between being understood as a living structure that shifts its location regularly, and its categorical identity as a listed building that forwards its immovable qualities. This article highlights how different ontological framings of drystone play a role in how the Sheep Dyke’s authenticity, function and value is experienced, defined, and subsequently managed. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted on North Ronaldsay, I observe how the Sheep Dyke’s dialogical relationship with a changing landscape shapes its perception as an ‘organically evolving monument’. Turning attention to how the structure is approached by regional heritage management in Orkney, I consider how the topic of change is negotiated in a regulatory setting beyond the local. I end with a deliberation on the ethical stakes implicated in the management of ontologically ambiguous heritage and apply the lens of ecology to consider the disruptive potential of thinking with disturbance, rather than continuity as a baseline. This article advocates for more flexibility in determining the value of heritage via its mutable characteristics rather than the championing of its supposedly intrinsic and static worth.