Proc SocAntiq Scot, (1994)4 12 , 173-187 George Petrie and the 'brochs' of Papa Westray Christopher Lowe* ABSTRACT Recent excavation on the cliff-section below St Boniface Church, Papa Westray, Orkney, and research archives the National the in of Monuments Record Scotlandof Society the of and Antiquaries' Library suggest that one of Petrie's drawings has previously been misidentified and misdated. An alternative identification is proposed and the evidential basis for the inclusion of the Castle ofBothikan bonafidea as broch site questioned.is INTRODUCTION Amon Petrie gth e Collectio f drawingo n sketch-bookd san s deposite e Societe th th y n db i y National Monuments Record of Scotland (NMRS), there is an untitled and undated drawing of a 'broch'. The drawing, ORD/17/2, forms part of lot SAS 487 and is reproduced here as illus 2 (by kind permission of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland). On the reverse is a sketch-plan entitled 'subterranean structure in Westray'. THE IDENTIFICATION OF DRAWING ORD/17/2 The 'broch' drawing has been published on two previous occasions: in the Royal Commission Inventory Orkner fo y (RCAHMS 1946 , fiii g, John 266)i d n Hedgesan ; ' survey (1987, iii, pi 3.15) of Orcadian broch sites. It is identified by both as the Castle of Bothikan, otherwise known as the 'Castle of Millyemay', a site on the Links at the head of the Bay of Moclett at the south end of Papa Westray (illus 1). A single chord line, 7 ft 2 in. long, forms the only scalable reference point drawinge foth r . remaine ground-plae Th th f so jusf no t under hal 'broch'a f , expose cliff-facea n di , occupy the lower two-thirds of the sheet (illus 2). A complex of appended outbuildings and covered passages lies outsid entrancee eth passage Th . e clearly continue pagee th f s,o towardp to e th s Petrie noting 'passage with lintels remaining only trace dotteo dt thin di slint n seemru bu e o t s direction'. Across the top of the drawing there is the comment: 'The ruins extend in this direction an dexpecI t tharoofine th t passagef go chamberd an s s remain intact. drawine Th ' g also shown sa elevation and perspective view of the entrance passage. In the corner of the sheet is a drawing of a circular object, labelled 'red freestone, 14 or 15 inches in diameter with cavity in centre'. (ScotlandC AO * ) LtdSchoolhousee ,Th Lochen,4 d Road, Leith, Edinburg 8B6 RhEH 174 SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1994 PAPAWESTRAY Holm of Papa 1 kilometre ILLUS 1 Papa Westray, Orkney: sites mentioned in the text. Based upon the Ordnance Survey map © Crown copyright The circular object has been variously identified as a 'lamp', implicit in the RCAHMS (1946, ii, 181) correlation of drawing to site (see below), or as the lower stone of a rotary quern (Hedges 1987, iii, 109). Petrie's pape 'Orknen o r y Antiquities' whic sens Danieo hwa t t l Wilson, Secretary of this Society, describes quite clearly the recovery of the stone or one like it from the Castle ruinth f Bothikanf so eo article Th . dates ei Decembe2 d2 r 1849: Fort2 Burghr so s remaine Th f manso thif yo s descriptio vera n nyi dilapidated statseee stilb e Orkneyn ear o i t l . Some which were openewhicof hdand account preservesare d exhibite usuadthe l appearanc doubla eof e waltrinketd an l weapond an s f iroso n were foun f ruine themn doubo o di th n f whae o s n I .on t wa t those forts in the island of Papa Westray there was lately found a piece of sandstone somewhat broken havind an gcavita t [blanki diameten n yi i s ]in [blanky rb dept n i bearind s h]in an g markt i f i firf so s ea had been used as a lamp. It was taken by me from the ruins last summer and is now in my possession an dsimilaa foune fora museu e on rSandan i n th tdi n i Kirkwallms n yi i ruine Th .Papn si a Westray just referred to are known to the inhabitants as the 'Castle of Bothikin'. (Petrie Notebook 5, 53-4: MSS 18, SAS 543.) LOWE: GEORGE PETRIE AND THE 'BROCKS' OF PAPA WESTRAY 175 The identification of the stone object on Drawing ORD/17/2 as that referred to in Petrie's correspondence with Wilson forms the only substantive link between the drawing and the Castle of Bothikan. THE DATE OF DRAWING ORD/17/2 Bot RCAHMe hth S (1946 , 181 ii ,522 o Hedged n , an ) s (1987, iii, 109, 146) dat drawine eth o gt 1874 e yeaon , r before Petrie's death collatioe time th n 1928I .th f eo t a f materia, no e th r fo l Orkney Inventory, or at sometime prior to its publication in 1946, Drawing ORD/17/2 formed part of the collection in the library of this Society and was referenced as 'Folio E4, Chest II' (RCAHMS 1946, ii, 181, footnote 1). It was said to describe 'an unnamed broch on Papa Westray, whic s partiallhwa y explore y 'G.Pdb ' [George Petrie Juln i ] y 1874' (RCAHMS 1946 , 181)ii , . Drawing ORD/17/2, although in Petrie's style and hand, however, bears neither marks of authorship dater titlr no , no ,e (Not. e1) Examinatio e sequencth f no whicn ei e drawinhth s lategwa r folde throy ma dw some considerable light on the date of the document. Of particular importance is the relationship of the obverse and reverse sides. cleao N . rdrawine tracbindina Th mm f e6 o g35 g (illu y alonb ) measure2 se m gth m 9 s47 centr s e sheeevidenei th d t appearan t havo t s e been originally e flatsheeTh . t bears three longitudina thred an l e transvers intervalm em fold-mark0 12 s respectivelyd an t roughla sm m 9 y8 , the result of the sheet having been folded on four occasions. The drawing of the Westray souterrain on the reverse occupies the upper half of the sheet and sits squarely withi aree nth a marke firse th t y folddb e 'broch Th . ' drawin foldes gwa haln di f from to sheebottoe o pthet s th d nwa t m turnean anti-clockwis° d90 foro et mdrawina y b m gm are6 a35 , wit roughlfole r 'spinehth seconmm lefte de o 0 th Th . yo 24 t d' subsequentlfols dwa y made along the length of the souterrain sketch to form a document 356 mm by roughly 120 mm. This was then folded in half, from top to bottom, to form a document 178 mm by 120 mm, before it was folded a fourth time similan i . , mm r0 fashion12 y siza b roughlf o et o ,m m 9 y8 An a priori case exists to suggest that the folding sequence reflects the chronology of the two drawings. The drawing style also suggests that they are closely contemporary: they have been execute penciln di , with coloured pencil shadin pencid gan l annotation 'broche walle th Th .f so ' are shaded brown, the outworks and passages blue, the cliff-face green and the stone object red. Importantly, in places, through the entrance passage and around the guard cell, the pencil line has been overlaid in red. The souterrain drawing on the reverse shows a similar drawing convention. It, too, has been executed in pencil, the pillars or orthostats shaded brown, and the wall-lines overlaid in red. The evidence of the folding-sequence, the drawing-style and, indeed, the physical proximity of the two drawings, together, suggest strongly that the two drawings are closely contemporary, and, moreover, tha casa t e priorit e existbroce th th r f sfo hyo drawing ove souterraine r th tha f o t . lattee date th thus f ri Th eo s centra questioe th datin e broce o t lth th f f nhgo o drawing. souterraie Th n drawing quite clearly correspond earth-house th o t s e near Pierowall Church (Thomas 1852, 129; Kirkness 1930, fig.3; RCAHMS 1946 , 351 ii , 1037)o n , , despit facte es th a , Lamb (1983126o n , ) noted34 , , tha arrangemene th t pillare drawinge th th f n o tsi s differ detailn i s . However shapchambere e sizth ,th d f eean o locatioe th entrance,e dispositioth e f th n o d e an , th f no pillar orthostatr so groups s(a s aroun perimetee dth chambere th f ro identicale )ar . Westrae Th y souterrai ThomasL excavates nwa W F ,y db probabl 184n yi 9 y (NotB . e2) implication this would become the most likely date for the excavation of the 'Castle of Bothikan', passage with lintels intact ' passage to doorway I o •fl > o •On nen I ofchamber_^, _ > t9 ——— - ——— ——————— z \ D K c \ /______^ '/X'/7 i --rp-r^-rW// i i <*// i i i i i I \ i i \ i \\ i \ I / XSN ^^ / Iu.us2 Drawing ORD/17/2, with an explanatory diagram (Crown Copyright: Royal Commission Ancientthe Historicalon and Monumentsof Scotland (Society of Antiquaries Collection)) 1 0 5 metres LOWE: GEORGE PETRIE AND THE 'BROCKS' OF PAPA WESTRAY | 177 a point already made explicit in the notice of Petrie's retrieval of a stone 'lamp' from its ruins. Drawing ORD/17/2, therefore, presumably also dates to this time, and not to a period some 25 years later.