1. Two-Storeyed Grave at Little Asta, Shetland
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A TWO-STOREYED GRAVE AT LITTLE AST A, SHETLAND. 69 III. TWO-STOREYEA ) NOTE(1 N O S D GRAV T LITTLEA E ASTA, SHET- LAND; (2) CERTAIN PREHISTORIC RELICS FROM SHETLAND; VIKINA AN ) D(3 G BROOC P SILVEHO R FROM SKAILL BAY, ORKNEY. BY J. M. CORRIE, F.S.A.ScoT. 1. TWO-STOREYED GRAVE AT LITTLE ASTA, SHETLAND. Durin e summegth r month f thio s s yea parta r f workmeyo n under the charge of Mr Andrew Hall, road foreman, Westerhoull, Scalloway, was engaged in quarrying for road metal on the east side of the public road not far from Little Asta, in the parish of Tingwall, Shetland, and on Tuesday, 2nd June, they came upon an interesting two-storeyed grave constructe slabf do stonef realisese o soos h A s n.a d tha beecisd a t ha tn disclosed r HallM , , with commendable restraint, decide o leavt d e eth construction undisturbed until a careful examination of the structure could be made. By a fortunate coincidence Mr G. V. Wilson, F.S.A.Scot., of H.M. Geological Survey of Scotland, happened to pass soon after, and appeales h guidancer ewa fo o dWilsot r M . t oncna e undertoo notifo kt y the Director of the National Museum of Antiquities by wire, and he arranged with Mr Hall to have the grave provisionally protected. On receipt of the telegram Mr Callander advised me to get into touch with privilege Mth r d followine Wilsonha th e I beinf o d y ,an g g da associate d assistants hi d Strachanan r wit,M m hhi makinn i , carefuga l examination of the grave. The district in which the discovery was made is, from an archaeological poin f particula o f view o te on , r interest believes i t I . d tha formen i t r years other cists have been discovere t variouda s placeneighboure th n si - hood t unfortunatelbu , recoro yn f thesdo e finds seem havo st e survived. Several constructions, however, still remaivicinite th n ni testifo yt o yt occupatioe th districe th f n o earl n i t y times. Barel southe ymila th o et - wards from the grave is a large but much-broken mound, popularly called Soldier'e th s Knowe onld ,an y shora t distanc northwardse th o et e th t a , e mosth f Loce to th complet e f Astaf hsouto o on d s i , hen e mounde b o st seen in Shetland. Farther north again is a fine standing stone, the Law Ting Holm groua d interestinf an p,o g mound t Gristasa . The Little Asta burial (fig. 1) was deposited at an elevation of 50 feet above sea-level, bu superincumbeno t n ther s ewa t moun r cairdo o t n mar e positio e intermentth k th f o n . This locatewa s n forcei d d soil mixed with rotten a rocdept t f a kfroo h mfee3 inche4 t fee3 o tt s 6 inches belo presene wth t surfac grounde th f et o seem I . s likely thaa t 70 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, DECEMBER 14, 1931. supporting slab for the large cover-stone (A in figs. 1 and 2) liad been removed before its real significance was noticed, for it was not until Fig. 1. Section of Two-storeyed Cist at Little Asta, Tingwall, Shetland. Mr Halexamined ha l e cavit dth found yfragmente an n th dur n a f o s d soman e decayed human remains thae reath tl nature e conth -f .o Fig. 2. Cover-stone, Upper Compartment of Grave at Little Asta. structio s realisednwa r HalM .l tell, indeedme s , that there appeared to have been a slab of limestone at the south end of the upper compart- rotted sucn ha i gravee t s dhfriabli a men th t awaywa f bu o d ,t e an , A TWO-STOREYED GRAVE AT LITTLE ASTA, SHETLAND. 71 condition that it was hardly recognisable from the other disintegrated quarryrocthe kof . The first procedur s carefullwa e o removt y e eartth e h froe mth covering slab, and, when this had been done, to photograph the con- struction with the stone in position. Fig. 2 shows the grave as then disclosed wit y e majola hth t I .r axis nort southd coverine han Th . g a fin slafouns e eb blargwa o t d e piec f importeeo d schis f irregulao t r form, measurin feeg5 t 2£ inche lengthn s northersi it t A . n extremity it measured only 17 inches in width, but at its widest it was 2 feet 10 inche breadthn si 1d £ an ,inc Io hft inc thicknessn hi pointo tw t sA . wese oth n bee d t sidha n t ei e edgetoole th provido t t sda smalo etw l but carefully made notches. It is not very clear for what purpose these had been intended. Thepossibly yma y have been associated wite hth liftin transportatior go stone.e th f no 1 On removing the covering slab it was at once apparent that at some former time the grave had been, perhaps unknowingly, disturbed. It will be seen that there was another slab (B in figs. 1, 2, and 3) over- hangin e e cistcover-stongth th .f o e nort Thith d t sen h a e measure d 2 fee inche3 t lengtn si foo 1 y th b 8^ inche widtn i s d 1J han inc n hi thickness roughld ha t I y. trimme d clearld ha edges d y an forme, a d e originaparth f o t l structure althoug obviousls s truit wa en i t h i t yno position. Its proper setting could not be definitely determined, but later investigation showed that there was no support for the cover-stone on the east side of the grave, and it may be that this slab came from there. more th l eThi al likel s i sface vien th yi t f wtha o e easth te t th sid f eo construction practically encroached upon the ditch of a former line of roadway, where disturbanc likels frequente b e wa o nortye t d Th hen . e cavitoth f y (No, figwhicn i 1) .1 . h measured abou foo1 t depthn i t , seeme o havt d e been roughly constructed. Here ther s onlewa y some loose packing, and this, in part, had given way. Two urns without con- tents of any description, and some much-decayed human remains, were found at the north end of the cavity resting on a slab of stone which forme de coverin e th parlowe th f o tr rg fo compartmen e graveth f o t. The larger urn was broken into fragments, and it cannot on that account be definitely stated whethe originallsmallee d th rha n rur y been enclosed within it or simply deposited alongside it. Two small fragments of the cap of a skull showing an eye ridge and very open sutures served to indicate tha buriae tbeeth d lha n thayouna f to g person. bottoe cavite th th n f I myo three irregularly shaped slabs, measuring simila1A r featur bees eha n note anothen di r two-storeyed grav t Newbiggingea , near Kirk- wall, Orkney (Proceedings, vol. vi. p. 411 and pi, xxiv.). It has been observed also in North- umberland (Greenwell's British Barrows, p. 418). 72 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, DECEMBER 14, 1931. respectively 10£ inches, 14 inches, and 13 inches in width, were laid horizontally, one against the other, to form the covering for a carefully constructed lower compartment or cist (No. 2 in fig. 1 and fig. 3), which measure feed inche2 0 1 t lengthn si foo1 , inche4 t widtnorte n si th t ha end and 1 foot 7 inches at the south end, and 1 foot 5 inches deep at the foo1 inchesoute 3 d t th nortan t hd sa end hen maie th , n axis again lying exactly geographical nort southd han . This provides cistwa d also with thia n floora sla r bfo . Fig show3 . compartmene sth finalls a t y exposed. Fig. 3. Lower Compartment of Grave at Little Asta, Tingwall, Shetland. partialle s founb wa o t dt I y filled with a mixtureart d han f burno e t unburnd an t bones e burnth , t remains beine g th adulthosn a d f an eo t unburnt remains those of an infant. The calcined remains had evidently been well fired, and pieces of vitrified material—known in Orkney and Shetland as " cramp "—still adhered closely to them. When found, inter- mixed with earth, the: y had a glutinous or pulpy feeling in the hand. unfortunats i t I e tha urne wer) tth 5 s ed (figs brokenan 4 . t mos,bu f o t e fragmentth s were recovereds beeha nt i foun d an ,d possibl recono et - struct the vessels. Both were made from an open-grained and easily fractured micaceous steatite. The larger of the two (fig. 4) is bowl-shaped, wit e mouthth h nearly circular t measurei d an , s externall inche1 y1 n si thin O s substance Proceedings,e se , vol. Ixii . 266p . 1 !\ A TWO-STOREYED GRAV T LITTLA E E ASTA, SHETLAND3 7 . diameter at its mouth, llf inches at the widest part of the wall, from 7 inches to 7f inches across the base, and from 8f inches to 9 inches in 1 O J1 Inches.