Scotland's only surviving travellers' monument has been officially recognised as a site of national cultural significance.
Historic Scotland has added Tinkers' Heart in Argyll, which features a heart of quartz stones, to the schedule of national monuments.
The move has been welcomed by campaigners within the travelling community, who have been calling for the site to be recognised for years.
Campaigner Jess Smith said: "When I got the call to say that Tinkers' Heart was going to be scheduled, I felt like that's the recognition that I've been looking for all my life.
"To give us the recognition and respect we've been looking for so long, now we can hold our heads up high and say we really aren't the thieves and vagabonds people often believes us to be, we've got a lot to offer."
Historic Scotland carried out a public consultation on whether or not to schedule the monument and took the decision to do so after meeting with community groups, the site's landowner and other members of the public.
The document confirming the decision was signed by director of heritage management Barbara Cummins yesterday.
She said: "It has taken a long time to get to this point and I’m delighted that we’ve finally been able to add Tinkers’ Heart to the Schedule of Monuments of National Importance.
"I’d like to express my sincere thanks to all those who contributed to our public consultation, which allowed my team to gather enough new evidence to ensure that the decision to schedule the site was the correct one.
"I believe that the end result is not only the landmark recognition of this traveller site but also the introduction of a new methodology which I hope will pave the way for how we undertake our work in future."
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