CHAMBERED CAIEN AT TAVERSOE TUICK, . 73

I. AN ACCOUNT OF A AND CREMATION CISTS AT TAVERSOE TUICK, NEAR TRUMLAND HOUSE, IN THE ISLAND OF ROUSAY, , EXCAVATED BY LIEUTENANT-GENERAL TRAILL BURROUGHS, C.B., OF ROUSAY, IN 1898. BY SIR WILLIAM TURNER, K.C.B., LL.D., D.C.L., F.S.A. SCOT. . In the month of May 1898 I received from Lieutenant-General Traill Burroughs, C.B. Rousayf o , , Orkney containinx bo a , g some human bones and other objects which had been obtained whilst excavating a mound s properthi n o f Rousayo y . From letters which General Burroughs d froan m , s writtesketcheha me o t n s mads y himselMr b e d an f Traill Burroughs I hav, e compile e followindth g description. moune Th situates di Flagstafn do f Hill, nea residences hi r , Trumland knowlocais House the l and nby nam, Taversbof e e Tuickwas It . about 4£ fee t e s grounabovloweth it e f naturar n o o th eo rd e li l southern side, and about 2 feet on the northern or upper side. It was circular at the base and had a diameter of about 30 feet. The surface was overgrown with heather, but with grass at the apex, and the bulk of the mound was composed of loose stones and earth. The excavations were begun in order to make a summer-seat on the moun o face t dsouth th e , which command a fins ee b prospect o t d an , protected from the north and east. With this object a wedge-shaped e soutth f ho e aspect mounds thath a d ou f di d t o t an cu , bloc s wa k not suffice for the purpose required, the excavation was carried further into the mound at the apex of the wedge, in the form of a semicircle. rougA h stone walexposes wa l d nea norte th r hmounde th fac f o e , about a foot below the surface. It was built of flat stones placed horizontally, with an upright flat stone at each end, and the ends were 4 feet apart. inche3 3 wese stone s n heighth i s Th wa to entirel d et an t y concealen di mounde th inche1 4 ;s eass uppee height n i sit thath d wa td o en t r an , projected into the grassy covering of the mound for a few inches, but it did not attract attention until its continuity with the concealed part stone oobserveds th f ewa . 74 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, JANUARY 12, 1903.

e excavatioTh s thewa nn continue e immediatth o t d e sout f thio h s wall, when three stone cists in close proximity to each other and to the stone wall wer e cists situate th e foo wa sf th exposed o t t e oa df On . the tallest upright stone. Unfortunately they had been broken by the workmen before General Burroughs saw them, so that their exact- dimensions canno cistgivene e describee b t Th sar . "s da small, nod "tan more than from fee 2 lengt 1n i o t| t breadth d lengte han th t h bu , rather exceede e breadthdth . They were constructe f undressedo d flat stones,, ane cover-stoneth d s were abouhala ince d f on an htthick . They con- tained fragment f whiteneo s d bones, which General Burrough inclines si d to think had been contained in urns lodged in the cists. The cists had been built on a layer of earth about a foot thick; when this was- removed stone th , n eundergrouna roo f o f d chambe s exposewa r feetd4 . inche3 s belo uprigho e surface groundtw w th th e f t o Th estone . d san the foundations of the wall discovered earlier in the excavation rested on the roof of this chamber at its northern end. As the excavation proceeded this chambe s morwa re fully exposed s formes rooIt wa .f d of five large lintel stones, the long axes of which ran north and south. d sidan e Thed walls en varied y e an ,reste th n lengthd i r n aso d-fa s a , visible, from 4 feet 2 inches to 5 feet 2 inches, and in breadth from 2 feet 1 inch to 3 feet. The middle stone was broken; the two on the- east side wer westmoso etw entiree th s tcrackef o stones;wa e n di on , two, the other crumbled into flakes and had to be removed. The stones- formin e rooth g f were massive flags, which varie thicknesn di s from3 to 10 or 11 inches. The chamber itself (fig. 1) consisted of a central part and four recesses or alcoves—two at the north end, one at the east, and another at the west—an flagstonee dth s just referre roofeo dt botn e i dbode th h th f yo chamber and the recesses. The interior measurements of the entire- chamber with its recesses were 12 feet in length, 5 feet 4 inches in widthfee4 8 inched t an , n heighti se easterTh . n recesfee4 s 2 t swa inches long by 2 feet 4 inches in width, and 2 feet 11 inches in height; that at the north-east was 3 feet in length by 2 feet 4 inches in breadth,. CHAMBEBED CAIRN AT TAVERSOE TUICK, ROUSAY. 75'

by 3 feet 5 inches in height; that at the north-west was 3 feet 6 inches- in length by 1 foot 11 inches in breadth, by 3 feet 10 inches in height;.

3 Feet

Fig . Groun1 . d e ChambePlath f e Chambereno th n i r d Cairn at Taversoe Tuick, Rousay. an fee3 d inchewes7 e s t thath wa t lengtn a t si fee 3 breadthn i y th b , b yfee4 heightn i t . Each recess approximate outlinn di semicirclea o et . '76 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , JANUARY 12, 1903.

e stoneTh s which line t i dwer e arrangeo fort s mbeehive-lika a o s d e .alcove; passing horizontally across each reces raiseand s d abou fooa t t abov e paveth e da flagstone floos wa r , which divide recese dth s intn oa tipper and a lower compartment, both filled with dark greasy mud. e sidTh ee chambewallth f o s r were .buil f flao t t stones d similaan , r flags formed its floor. A skeleton bent upon itself was found in the north-west recess. Fragments of a human skeleton were also found in the north-eastern recess. In removing the earth which had fallen into the chamber numerous pieces of broken pottery were found, so that several urns had probably been deposited there. There were no signs ' of cremation in the chamber itself. The chamber at its south aspect opened into a long passage, which soute th xa o hnt mounde th fac f ended o e an , d outsid moune eth d about 15 feet fro e interioe mchamberth th f e earto r Th h. which concealed fee3 thicknessn fro s i o coverets t m1 wa wa t i y strond db an , g heather, thao s tindicatioo n ther e s surface existencth th ewa e n f no th o e f eo passage. Wher fee3 t chambee ei lefinche9 s th t t wa t si r higd han 2 feet wide d abou an 2 fee, 1 t t froe chambeth m t i diminisher o t d 2 fee inche4 t fooheigh1 n si inche 9 d t an t s iu t widthi seeme d an , d as if it was continued into a passage smaller in all its dimensions, which •General Burroughs speaks of as a drain. About 2 feet 6 inches from the chamber a small recess was found in the west wall of the passage abou foo1 t inche8 t s above passage th e floolone f th eo Th gr .axi f so the recess, 2 feet 4 inches, was parallel to that of the passage, its breadth was 1 foot 4 inches, its height was 11 inches. It was bounded by an upright stone built int walle oth t ,projec whicno d thdi intpassagee oth . This stone was 2 feet 3 inches in height, 2 feet in breadth, and 6 inches in thickness. The walls of the passage •were 'formed of flag-like stones placed horizontally e passagth s paved wa ean , d with flags about 1J inches thick. At about 13 feet 6 inches from the chamber a block of stone lay in its long diameter across the passage and fitted into the wall on each side. CHAMBERED CAIR TAVERSOT A N E TUICK, 7 ROUSAY7 .

It rested on the floor, and projected from it to the height of 12 inches. s lon It visibles g wa abou s diameters wa a ,foo1 tr inches9 tfa o d s , an , it was 1 foot in breadth. From its position it formed an imperfect barrier against entrance inte proximaoth e e passagl th th par f d o tan e chamber. The narrow drain-like continuation of the passage was traced for a distance of 15 feet from the chamber, and gradually diminished widtn i correspondingld han furthesd en e heightn th yti t removeA . d

Fig . Hal 2 Hammer-hea.a f fo Gref do y Gl'anite passage foun th Chambee n th di o et f ro the Cairn at Taversoe Tuick, Rousay. From a Drawing by Mrs Traill Burroughs.

fro chambee m th t beeye nt t i benr no ts somewhaha t i easte t th bu ,o t t s traceultimatit o t d e termination. Although drain-lik s modit n ei e of construction t i obviousl, y coul t havno d e e actea drainth s a ds a , stone barrier would have checke floda w outwards fro chambere mth . Three heaps of bones, representing probably as many skeletons, were passage founth n di e betwee chambee barriee nth th d r an rstone . Immediatel e barriee soutth th f o ho yt r ston e broketh e n a hal f o f hammer-head of smooth grey granite (fig. 2), about 2 inches in diameter, 8 7 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F O S , JANUAR , 190312 Y .

r froflakwaa fa m t f flintt i so e found no , d triangulaan , shapen ri , which might have been usescrapera s da . Somewhat further away froe mth barrier numerous broken portions of urns were seen on the floor of passagee th , mixed with earth, black mud fragmentd an , bonef o s . As the small cists found superjacent to the roof of the chamber had been broken by the workmen, and their contents in great measure scattered about before they were see y Generab n l Burroughs, their •exact condition before they were disturbed cannot, unfortunatelye b , state n greatei d r detail thas alreadha n y been givene specimenTh . s r examinatiofo e m sen o t t n were collectee th d f froo t leasta mo tw three cists, and in large part consisted of numerous fragments of bone, which from their greyish-white appearance, with n somi , e specimens, blackening of the cancellated tissue, and less frequently of the compact ; shell of the bone, had obviously been incinerated. Sometimes they were •contorted crackd ha d s extendinan , g into their substance. When struck, metallia the d yha c rinwerd gan e almost devoi f animado l matters A . a rule e fragmentth , s wer smalo o makt s e s t a i impossiblel stato t e e in most cases which bones of'the skeleton they had been parts of, though many of them were, without any doubt, from the long bones e limbs•oth fo specimen tw ; s were, from their d sizmarkingsan e , obviously sections of the thigh-bones, two others were parts of ribs, .another was a portion of a vertebra, several flat fragments had belonged e termina th e head o bone t e th fingerd th f an ,o s f l o s phalane on f o x was also fairly well preserved. They were undoubtedly human bones fro adultn ma r possiblo , y more tha full-growe non n person fragmenA . t •of the dentary border of an upper jaw-bone was also recognised, which, from the small size of the alveoli for the lodgment of the fangs of the teeth apparentls wa , y childthaa f o t . Mane fragmentth f yo f bono s e were attache r eveo o ndt embedden di nodular masses of hard vitrified slag, the surface of which not unfre- •quentl s smooty wa iridescent d an h . nodulee Somth f o e s were broken across and found to be hollow in the. interior, as if from the presence of .air cavities. From thei o thint rd appearanckle thas wa t e durinon e g CHAMBERED CAIRN AT TAVERSOE TUICK, KOUSAY. 79

"the cremation of the bodies, so intense a heat had been generated that a .slad beeha gn produced ,man n i whic d y ha hinstance s fused wite th h bones. Throug e courteshth f Dyo r Leonard Dobbin e Chemicath f o , l Laboratory in the University, an analysis of the slag has been made. t consisteI f aluminiumdo , calcium, magnesium, with small quantitief so iron and potassium, and the salt radicals of phosphoric and silicic acids. As it required a bright yellowish heat to fuse the slag, it had obviously been originally produce higa t da h temperature. Numerous fragment f brokeo s n pottery were mingled wit bonese th h , -so that the opinion formed by General Burroughs, that each cist had con- taine withouurns n da wa , t doubt correct. There can I think, little b , e question that after crematio e incinerateth n d bone beed sha n deposited urnn a ,n i whic d beehha n placed mouth downward flaa n t o sston n eo the earthen floor of a cist of a size about sufficient to accommodate it. These cists were therefore cremation cists quitd an , e differen characten i t r fro shore mth t cist frequentlo s y foun n Scotlandi d whicn i , uncren ha - mated body had been buried in the bent posture. The urns had been broken into such small fragments tha restoratioa t impossibles nwa e Th . past a moderatels unglaze f o wa e d an d y coarse texturee outeth d r an , .-surfac ligha s t wa ebric k colour. Eve e smalth n l fragments were pro- portionately heavy, so that there was probably a considerable percentage -of iron in the clay which had been used to form the urn. I did not see incised lines on any of the fragments from the cremation cists. addition I remaine th o nt s obtained fro e crematiomth n cists, General Burroughs forwarde e objectm o t d sundergroune lyinth n gi d chamber -an passage dth e. it leadin f o t gou e previoustates th A n i d s description, unburnt human skeletons were found in the chamber, one of which was bent upon itself, so that the -chambe d obviouslha r y been usea plac s f a dsepulturo e r unburnfo e t bodies. It is greatly to be regretted that the bones which I received wer muco s e h brokene fragmentsth d an , s aa , rule, wer o smales l that impossibls wa t i reconstruco t e t eithe lone th rg hone skulla r so . Frag- ment t leasta f so five adult femora were recognised, which represented three 0 8 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , JANUAR , 190312 Y .

individuals; portions of tibite, fibulse, and an astragalus and a clavicle- were also fairly well preserved. The skull was that of an adult, bub from its fragmentary state it is not possible to say whether the pro- portions were dolichocephali r brachycephalico c e lefe Th t th .hal f o f lower jaw was preserved, and the true molar teeth were all in place and worn flausey b t .- Fro e slendernessmth e e claviclcomth th f -d o an e paratively feeble muscular ridges on some of the long bones, I am disposed to think that at least one of the skeletons had been that of a woman. e uppeTh tibiasro endtw f ,s o though imperfect, showed distinctle yth retroversio e hea th f thao df no t bone o frequentls whic s ha h y been observed in the tibiee from and Bronze Age interments, and the broken shafts had a moderate amount of platyknemia. In only one femur was the upper third of the shaft sufficiently entire to enable me to recognise the antero-posterior flattening known as platymery, a con- dition frequently see skeletonn ni s from these interments. Fragments of bone obtained from the long passage were from one or more skeletons whic beed hha n cremated fragmente Th . characters-d ha s simila thoso t r e described fro e crematiomth n cists situate rooe th f n do of the underground chamber. They were mingled with nodules of slag like those already described. difficulto n Ther s recognisinwa en i y e gth human characte e incineratef somth o r f eo d fragments. pottere Th y e passagfounth n di e was forme vera f yo d coarse paste. The largest fragment sen meo t t , 4| directioinchee on inche3 n si y nb n si another aboud an , inc1 t n thicknessi h s obviouslwa , yportioa e th f no base of an urn, without doubt a cinerary urn of some magnitude. Some other fragment possessioe th n i s ) (figs 4 f Genera no , 3 . l Traill Burroughs showe e obliquelth d y incised lines commoo whics e ar h n a decorative featur thif o e s primitive pottery. Both in the chamber and its passage stones were found which in part falled ha durinn ni excavatione gth archaeologicawero d n an f , eo l interest. One stone has, however, attracted my attention. It is a flake, apparently, of sandstone, attenuateintd en a osor f e handleo t on t expanded a an , d

2 S PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F O S , JANUAR , 190312 Y .

at the other into a hammer-like head. Its length is 10 J inches and its greatest width 6f inches e margin e parTh th . tf o whics h might have been usea handl s da e were comparatively smooth a holloe d on an w,n i margin readily accommodated the thumb when it was grasped by the t sho marky no wd an chippingf handdi so t I . f madi s ,a e artificiallyt bu , was probabl ynaturaa l flake convenienf o , t shap usee toola b s do a et .