sign in sign up
<<
Home , Birsay, Edwin Muir, Egilsay, Eynhallow, Eynhallow Sound, Midhowe Broch

Eynhallow lies between & The Mainland and is 1km by 1km. It is currently uninhabited and was abandoned in 1851. Eynhallow means Holy Island Eyin - Helga in . Eynhallow folklore tells of the island being inhabited by dark shape shifting sorcerers known as the Finfolk.

MONASTERY (30) ROUSAY ∙ ∙ WYRE There is a probable monastery (30) on the south-west side of the island. This was discovered in 1851 when the inhabitants were evacuated due to typhoid contaminated well water. Four families lived in a row of cottages with thatched roofs. To prevent the spread of disease the buildings roofs were removed which led to the discovery of a chapel with two STEPPING BACK IN TIME ornate Romanesque stone arches, nave and chancel. The west end has a square porch which could be the remains of a square church tower. The chapel is built from local stone, yet red sand stone pieces lie outside of the , similar to the stone used in the building of the and that found at The Wirk. It is thought these were uncovered during evacuation in the 19th century but it is possible that they were brought there during restorations in the early 20th century.

Due to the island’s Norse name it is believed that there may have been a pre-Norse structure under the current church / monastery. Geophysical survey around the monastery in 2007 showed a possible circular enclosure below the present monastery. An archaeological survey of the whole island in the same year by the UHI Institute recorded numerous enclosures, rig and furrow, ruined farmhouses and a on the eastern coast. You can visit Eynhallow on the annual summer Heritage Society trip.

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING Canmore - National Monument Record online, Historic Environment Pastmap - National Monument Record available on searchable map online National Library of Scotland - Map Images available in Digital Resources online Rousay Remembered – local heritage and archaeology website Swandro - Orkney Coastal Archaeology Trust – website with reports and information University of the Highlands & Islands Archaeology Institute blog ‘Archaeology Orkney’ Orkneyjar - Orkney heritage, folklore and archaeology website The Megalithic Portal – website for prehistoric monuments worldwide Undiscovered Scotland - online guide to Scotland

Books: The Chambered Cairns of Orkney. J.L Davidson & A.S. Henshall, 1989. Towers of the North. The Brochs of Scotland. I. Armit, 2003. Swandro-Orkney Coastal Archaeology Trust A New . W.P.L. Thomson, 2008. The Little General and the Rousay Crofters. W.P.L. Thomson, 1981 (reprinted 2000).

Produced by Rousay Egilsay & Wyre Heritage © 2018, in collaboration with UHI Archaeology Institute. Funded by Heritage Lottery Fund and the Rousay Egilsay and Wyre Development Trust for the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology. ARCHAEOLOGY & HISTORY BOOKLET Text by Helen Castle (REW Development Trust), Dan Lee (UHI) & Sarah Jane Gibbon (UHI). Design by Sean Page (UHI)

Map data: contains OS Open Data © Crown Copyright/database right 2018.

Photos kindly provided by Max Fletcher (Rousay Remembered), Swandro-Orkney Coastal Archaeology Trust (cover), Vix Simcock, Helen Castle and UHI Archaeology Institute.

16 ROUSAY ∙ EGILSAY ∙ WYRE WYRE

The three islands of Rousay, Egilsay & Wyre have been shaped by nature and people over the CUBBIE ROO’S CASTLE (28) last 6,000 years, creating the isles as we know them today. This booklet is a brief summary of the archaeology and history of our islands. It aims to provide information on the most is mentioned in Orkneyinga prominent sites, places and events, plus websites and sources where further information can saga and is one of the oldest stone built be found. castles in Scotland. The castle is named after Kolbein Hruga, the Norwegian Sites have been grouped by island and district. On Rousay, the story moves clockwise around chieftain, who lived there. The castle is the island from Frotoft in the south, to Westness, Wasbister and Sourin in the east. believed to have been built in c1145. In Numbers in the text refer to sites marked on the map below. Hakon's Saga, it is mentioned that after the last Norse of Orkney, Earl

CUBBIE ROO’S CASTLE, WYRE Max Fletcher John, was murdered in in 1231, his killers fled to Wyre. They took refuge in the castle, which was so strong that the besiegers could not breach it. An almost square stone keep with three walls 7.8 metres along and one 7.9 metres, with c 1.7 metre thick walls is defended on the outside by a series of ramparts, with a ditch, earthworks and stone wall.

In the 1930s archaeological excavations, found that the castle was in use for some time, and had at least five additional external building phases with extensions added to the main tower. The surviving castle walls are two metres high, with only the ground floor remaining. The entrance to the keep was in the first floor as recorded by Wallace in 1688.

ST MARY’S CHAPEL (29)

The chapel is located just below the castle in a small valley. This 12th century chapel is now roofless, but largely complete with Romanesque . The chapel was in a state of ruin by 1791 but was partly restored in the late 19th century at the instruction of General Burroughs. The site was again cleared of debris in the 1930s. There is a walled burial ground surrounding the chapel. This is a rare surviving example of a medieval church, the likes of which would have once been found in most Orkney townships, and its survival is likely due to its continued use as a chapel of ease for the people of Wyre long after the parish churches were designated in the twelfth century.

EDWIN MUIR (1887 - 1959)

The famous Orcadian poet, novelist and translator, was born on a farm in , but as a child lived on Wyre at Bu. In later life he looked back on this life in Orkney as ‘a kind of idyll, innocent and free, a dream of Eden’. This is most clearly described in his poem ‘One TIMELINE Foot in Eden’.

BROOCH REPLICA Max Fletcher 2 15 THE MAGNUS STORY ROUSAY ∙ EGILSAY ∙ WYRE

In the early twelfth century, cousins Magnus Erlendsson and Hakon Paulsson ruled the ROUSAY Orkney and Earldoms. Both worked well together at the start of their reign, Rousay is a hilly island 3 km north west but this did not last through the interference of chieftains. The quarrelling earls soon nearly of Orkney Mainland, and has been came to blows and a confrontation was planned at Tingwall (Old Norse thingvollr – assembly nicknamed ‘the of the north’ due field). The confrontation was averted and Egilsay was agreed as the place to make peace. At to its wealth of archaeological sites. Easter in 1116 or 1117, each agreed to bring two ships and the same number of men. A With an area of 48 sq.km (18.8 square large wave struck Magnus’s ship en-route to Egilsay, giving him a sign all was not well. miles), it is the fifth largest island in the Orkney . The name Rousay When Hakon arrived with eight ships, Magnus knew peace would not be made. Hakon found is of Norse origin and means ‘Rolf’s Magnus in hiding on Egilsay and brought him before local chieftains. The chieftains insisted island’. Originally known as 'Rollesay' in one of the earls had to die as they were tired of their disruptive joint rule. Magnus stepped the 14th century, then 'Rolsay' in the forward to accept his fate. Hakon ordered his standard bearer, Ofeig, to execute Magnus, 15th, and 'Rowsay' in the early 16th but he refused. So Hakon ordered his cook, Lifolf, to carry out the deed. Lifolf wept, but century. The island became known as EYNHALLOW UHI Archaeology Institute Magnus comforted him and forgave him for carrying out the order. Magnus requested not to 'Rousay' thereafter. For several be beheaded like a criminal, so Lifolf struck him hard on the head splitting his skull in two. hundred years, Rousay people have earned their living mainly from farming and fishing. Most Magnus was buried on the spot he was killed and denied a Christian burial. of the farming is undertaken around the lowland coastal fringe of the island. The hilly interior contains peat bogs and with fresh water lochs - ideal for more adventurous walking routes. tells that the rocky ground where he was buried turned into a green field. In the 19th century, records show there were other trades on Rousay such as blacksmiths Magnus’ mother eventually persuaded Hakon to allow a Christian burial for Magnus. Magnus and joiners, shoemakers and shopkeepers, was moved to and was buried in Christ Church, built by his grandfather Thorfinn dressmakers and straw plaiters. Rousay's Sigurdsson (remains of Christ Church have been found below the present St Magnus Church population in the mid-19th century was over in Palace settlement). Miracles occurred and the grave glowed with a bright light and sweet 900, but after land clearances this was reduced fragrance. Twenty years later, Magnus was proclaimed a saint and his remains were to 627 by 1900, and half a century later it had enshrined above the altar in Christ Church. His relics were translated to , and first fallen to 342. Depopulation accelerated, and in WESTNESS UHI Archaeology Institute housed in St Olaf’s Church before being translated in c 1145 to St Magnus Cathedral in the next twenty years resident numbers fell to Kirkwall following its foundation in 1137. 181. From the 1970s, new families started to settle on Rousay, many coming from , increasing the population to around 200.

WYRE Most archaeological sites on Rousay are found in the coastal areas, although it is likely that prehistoric sites might be present below the peat in the centre of the island. Hundreds of The island of Wyre is 3.5km by 1.5 km and is the smallest inhabited island in Orkney. Wyre archaeological sites have been identified on Rousay – from tombs and houses to has over one hundred archaeological sites including a Neolithic settlement, houses from the last few hundred years - but only a small fraction of them have been burnt mounds, the enigmatic enclosures at Skermie Clett, and the probably the oldest stone investigated in any detail. Many of the more prominent sites, such as the chambered tombs, built castle in Scotland, Cubbie Roos, with a nearby chapel. Wyre was the early childhood were excavated in the 1930s and then opened to the public. Rousay has a long history of home of the poet . archaeological investigation, from early excavations at by Lady Burroughs, to the hay day of excavations in the 1920s and 1930s with Walter Grant excavating many tombs and Midhowe , and Gordon Childe at RAES OF HA BRECK EOLITHIC SETTLEMENT B ’ N (27) . More recently, excavations and survey have taken place at the coastally eroding site Near the western end of the island, excavations by UHI Archaeology Institute in 2007-2013 at Swandro and at Skaill farmstead in revealed the remains of five early Neolithic rectangular buildings (stone built houses Westness. Several parts of Rousay are replacing two timber ones), middens, work areas and a domestic stone quarry. Neolithic designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest timber buildings are rare in Orkney. The site has been dated to c.3300-3000 BC and the (SSSI) with notable cliff formations and excavations resulted in finds including stone tools, round-based pottery, polished stone axes wildflower colonies and there is an RSPB bird and one of the largest charred grain assemblages from a Neolithic context in Scotland. It reserve at . appears that the quarry provided the materials for building the stone houses. The quarry was deliberately filled after use and eventually capped with midden in the Bronze Age. SWANDRO UHI Archaeology Institute 14 3 SOUTH Subsequent test excavations revealed several phases of walling below the present farmhouse, dating back to the Norse period. Large bones and a fragment of steatite were found. FROTOFT Other trenches revealed a post-medieval barn and a boundary bank.

Some of the most impressive chambered tombs can be In 2017, a line of 1metre by 1metre test pits were excavated across the farm mound. These visited along the southern coast of Rousay: Taversoe helped to define the extent of the farm mound, and demonstrated that Norse activity was Tuick, Blackhammer and Yarso are all clearly sign focused in the area below the current farmhouse. Norse pottery, fish bone, shell midden posted from the road with nearby parking. All three and elaborate red sandstone mouldings were found. The moulded red sandstone is tombs date to the Neolithic (around 3,000 BC), a significant and indicates that late medieval high status buildings were present. They may also period where Rousay seems to have had more than its help provide insights into the ornate red sandstone fragments nearby at The Wirk and on fair share of activity. The Neolithic period is when Eynhallow. Evidence for metal working, in the form of iron slag, has also been recovered communities in Orkney first adopted farming, built from Skaill. In the higher, later levels of the excavations, animal and fish bones, and pottery stone tombs and houses, made pots and polished from the 17-19th centuries were found. stone axes. Many of the excavated Rousay tombs have EGILSAY been fitted with modern concrete roofs for protection LOOKING ALONG THE ROAD AT FROTOFT and making it easier to explore them. The island of Egilsay is 5 km by 2km and is located to the east of Rousay. The island is Before the Neolithic, little is known about the hunter-gather groups from the largely farmland and is one of the few places in the UK period on Rousay. More Mesolithic evidence is starting to come to light in other parts of where corncrakes still breed. Egilsay has beautiful beaches Orkney, and hunter gather groups are likely to have inhabited Rousay when sea levels were and an RSPB reserve. Extremely unusual for the Northern lower and it was joined to the Orkney Mainland. Isles, it has been suggested that Egilsay may have a partly Gaelic name. While at first sight, it appears to be Egil's island, ‘Egil’ being a Norse personal name, the Gaelic eaglais TAVERSOE TUICK (1) (Celtic ‘eccles) meaning church, may have been what the A two-storey cairn discovered in 1898 when Lady Burroughs was having a sheltered seat Norse name ‘Egil’ was derived. The island of Kili just built into the mound. It is the only double-decker tomb you can visit in Orkney. The lower EGILSAY UHI Archaeology Institute to the north, may represent cille, a monastic cell. Egilsay tombs receives the mid-morning sun at . The site was fully excavated in 1937 has several archaeological sites, including a large Neolithic when two entrance passages were found, one in the south-eastern side, leading to a lower chambered tomb (Maes Howe type) at the southern end of the island at Onziebust (23), chamber, with a second north-facing entrance passage leading to an upper chamber. burnt mounds, and a possible medieval harbour at The Hubbet. The most famous site is St Visitors can now access the lower chamber via a ladder, this was not possible when the Magnus Kirk (25). cairn was in use. A mini tomb was also found slightly downhill of the cairn. Excavations have shown this was part of the original design and may have been used for ritual practices. ST MAGNUS KIRK (25) Three pottery bowls but no human bone were found inside the mini tomb. Excavations also uncovered three stone cists with the cremated remains of adults and a child, along with The roofless remains of St Magnus Kirk pottery and cattle bones, probably dating to the reuse of the mound in the Bronze Age. stand on the western side of Egilsay and dominate the island. Built in the second half of the 12th century, the church is BLACKHAMMER (2) made up of a rectangular nave and a square chancel with a round tower on A typical stalled cairn, with an interior divided into seven compartments by pairs of upright the western end. Despite the lack of a stone slabs. The original entrance to this 13-metre long tomb was sealed up when the roof the remains are in good condition. cairn was abandoned. The cairn had a decorative design on the outer wall of the tomb The tower still stand 14.9 metres high, using stone slabs in a triangular ‘herringbone’ pattern. Traces of the decorative stonework ST MAGNUS KIRK UHI Archaeology Institute although it is thought it was once taller, can still be seen at either side of the entrance and when the entrance was finally sealed, the perhaps by as much as 4.5 metres. The structure lost its roof sometime in the mid to late cairn's users went to great lengths to ensure the stones used were set flush to the wall and 19th century. An early 19th century sketch shows a stone roof over the kirk’s nave, chancel matched the pattern of slanting stones on either side. When excavated in 1936, it appeared and tower. It is thought the kirk was either built on the spot of an earlier church or on the that skeletal remains were removed regularly for ritual purposes during the Neolithic. site of Earl Magnus Erlendsson murder in 1117. A monument to St Magnus was erected Other finds here included animal bones, tools, a pottery bowl and flint knife. nearby in the 20th century (26).

4 13 RECENT FIELDWORK ON ROUSAY SOUTH

Recent excavation and survey has focused on Westness and the Westness estate. Two sites YARSO (3) have been selected in order to understand the remarkable 5000 - year history of this part of Rousay. The coastally eroding site of Swandro includes the remains of a Neolithic Vix Simcock This Neolithic stalled cairn may have originally been two- chambered tomb with a later prehistoric and Norse settlement built into the side. Skaill storied. It is divided into 4 compartments by 3 pairs of farmstead consists of a Viking / Norse farm mound with a later farmstead built on top, taking upright slabs. The stonework around the cairn reflects the story right up to the clearances and the present day. the local pottery's decoration of triangular motifs. When excavated in 1934 the remains of at least SWANDRO (11) 29 adults were found. The bones were disarticulated and arranged neatly in groups facing inwards. Other finds This site has been under investigation since 2010 when the full extent of coastal erosion at included flint knives and pottery sherds together with the site was realised. The University of Bradford and Swandro-Orkney Coastal Archaeology the bones from both domestic and wild animals. Some Trust have been in a race against time as the sea continues to of these finds and stonework in the upper chamber had erode the site. The site was originally interpreted as an Iron Age scorch marks indicating that fires had been lit inside the house from the remains visible above the shore. These structures tomb perhaps during a funeral ritual. have since turned out to be the remains of a Neolithic chambered tomb which extends below the . The central chamber KNOW OF YARSO CAIRN Further along the road you can see a large standing appears to remain intact but has not been excavated to date. stone, thought to date to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, SWANDRO Excavations in the tomb entrance passage revealed evidence of next to the farmhouse at Langstane (4). Viking activity with a coin of EANRED, King of Northumbria 810- 840 AD, together with the near complete skeleton of a cat. It appears that the tomb was Look out for the large Iron Age broch mounds along the coast below the road. The Knowe accessed during later phases of occupation. Adjacent to the tomb entrance, several stone of Hunclett (5) is just below Blackhammer tomb next to the large steel buildings of the fish buildings have been excavated below the upper part of the storm beach. These include the hatchery and the Knowe of Burrian (6) is on the shore below Yarso. Neither site has been remains of mid and late Iron Age stone-built round houses and a Pictish smithy with excavated. Brochs are large stone-built round houses, often with surrounding settlements, evidence of metalworking. Another coin, a Nummus of Constans dating to 348 - 350 AD, built between 300 BC and 300 AD. They are common throughout Atlantic Scotland and has also been recovered from inside the late Iron Age house. After each season, the team of were thought to have been the home of large families or kin groups. Their size, has led some archaeologists have to cover the site with stones and hope that the winter storms do not to suggest a defensive function, however the size may represent a display of wealth and destroy the structures. Excavations at Swandro continue each summer, and the team aim to power rather than evidence for warfare and conflict. There are six brochs along the south investigate the site before it is lost to the sea. and west coasts of Rousay (including Midhowe, see Westness), with a similar distribution across in Evie. This includes Gurness broch which has a large outer SKAILL (13) settlement to explore and is also worth a visit.

TRUMLAND HOUSE (7) The house was completed in 1873 by General Burroughs, laird of Rousay from 1847 until his death in 1905. Before that the laird’s residence was at Westness House. The house is made from local Rousay stone. The gateway to the path leading to the kitchen garden SKAILL UHI Archaeology Institute is made of 13th century sculptured stones found near St Mary’s Church and The Wirk. From 1870-83, there Investigations at Skaill (13) have been undertaken by the UHI Archaeology Institute since were many improvements made to the estate including 2015. Geophysical survey revealed features, such as platforms and enclosures, below the the building of Trumland pier, island schools, a public present 18/19th century buildings. The place name Skaill in Orkney means hall and is market, the first steamship service, a post office, and indicative of a high status building. It usually associated with a Norse drinking hall, and the the first resident doctor. TRUMLAND HOUSE Helen Castle site in Rousay was interpreted as a likely medieval farm mound.

12 5 SOUTH WASBISTER (18) The loch contains an islet and a peninsula . The islet is called Burrian and when examined in Trumland passed from the Traill-Burroughs family in the 1920s, and was later purchased by 1974, it was found to have a large walled enclosure divided half. Excavations were limited, the Grant family of Grant's & Park whisky in Kirkwall. The property was but the surrounding area was investigated by snorkelling and a to the island from used as a summer residence. Walter Grant supported many of the excavations on Rousay the west side of the loch and further walls were located. The peninsula, Brettaness, which which were undertaken by Scotland’s leading archaeologists. He then donated many sites to is partly constructed is thought to have been inhabited during the Iron Age and Pictish the State, hence the numerous properties-in-care, that can now be visited. period. Both places are traditionally known to have been chapel sites of St Peter and St Bride/Bridget respectively. Trumland was later sold again, and passed through a series of owners until a fire on 4 April 1985 caused considerable damage, leaving the property roofless and with the upper floors EAST and principal rooms seriously damaged or destroyed. After re-roofing in 1985 the house was again sold, and passed un-restored through a series of owners until purchased by the SOURIN present owners in 2002, who are now in the process of restoring the house and gardens. There is a high concentration of Neolithic sites in the eastern part of Rousay in the Faraclett The gardens of Trumland can be visited for a small charge. area. The settlement at Rinyo (19) on Bigland Farm dates to the later Neolithic. The site WEST was discovered in 1837 and excavated in 1938 and 1946 by Vere Gordon Childe (who also excavated at ) and by W.G. Grant. Three stone-built houses with stone ‘beds’, alcoves and hearths, along with other structures, were excavated. The houses were similar WESTNESS in plan to those at Skara Brae, but only a few courses of stone survived. Recent geophysical survey has shown that the site is much more extensive than the area excavated by Childe. The site is covered over and little of the houses can be seen today.

FARACLETT LOOKING TOWARDS KIERFEA HILL UHI Archaeology Institute

Parking at Faraclett and walking west along the signposted path, you pass two small cairns (20), which are the remains of Neolithic chambered tombs. Upright stones and walling are visible in the centre of one mound and both appear to have been investigated, although no record of this survives. Further down the slope are Bigland Round and Long Cairns.

If you continue around the headland back to Faraclett farm, you will see a large standing stone down to the left. The Yetnasteen (21), a seven foot high standing stone, is said to THE COAST AT WESTNESS UHI Archaeology Institute have once been a giant who revives every New Year (having been turned to stone by the One of the most remarkable landscapes in Scotland is located along the western side of morning sun) at midnight and goes down to the Loch of Scockness to drink. The name in Rousay at Westside. This stretch of coast contains some of the most impressive upstanding Old Norse means ‘Giant Stone’. sites you can visit along with many others which survive as earthworks on the ground surface. From Neolithic tombs, to Iron Age brochs, Viking graves, a medieval tower, a kirk A sculpture (22) by the 20th century Scottish artist Ian Hamilton Finlay (known as the and farmsteads, all in the space of the few hundred meters. ‘concrete poet’) entitled ‘Gods of the Earth, Gods of the Sea’ can be found at the top of the Sourin Brae and the Leean, just off the road. You can park in the layby on the road and walk To visit the Westness coast, please park at the Midhowe cairn and broch car park on the to the sculpture down a short path. The site has good views to the and on a clear road and walk down the hill to the coastal path. Please do not access the coast from day you can see . Westness Farm.

6 11 WEST WEST

QUANDALE MIDHOWE (8)

UHI Archaeology Institute The cairn was excavated in the 1930s, and uncovered a stalled burial chamber measuring 32.5 metres long, divided by upright into a series of 12 stalls, and thought to date from around 3500BC. Each of these stalls contained a stone TOFTS, QUANDALE Max Fletcher ‘bench’ upon which bodies were laid. The remains of 25 individuals (17 adults, 6 youths and 2 infants) Quandale is a remarkable landscape of ruined crofts, enclosures, run rig and prehistoric were found on the floor of the cairn. Most had mounds. The township was subject to the only large-scale clearance in Orkney during the been placed with their backs to the eastern wall, mid-19th century (1845 and 1855-59) and became sheep grazing for Westness farm. As facing the central passage. Throughout the rubble such, it has escaped modern development and so contains a wealth of sites and features of that filled the cairn, the excavators found the traditional farming communities and from a more ancient past. Quandale contains numerous MIDHOWE CHAMBERED CAIRN remains of cattle, sheep and red-deer (antlers), as Bronze Age burial mounds and burnt mounds. well as fish bones and limpet shells. Like other Orkney cairns, the finds hint at either ritual feasting or were perhaps grave goods, buried The Knowe of Dale (15) is the largest burnt mound on Rousay, and is clearly visible from along with the dead. Other artefacts in the rubble included five hammer-stones, a stone the road. Burnt mounds are usually crescent-shaped and contain a mass of accumulated pestle and three ‘rude stone implements’. After the tomb had fallen out of use, two bodies burnt stones adjacent to a water trough. They were used for a variety of activities such as were buried within the collapsed rubble. cooking, fulling and perhaps even as . Quandale contains numerous ruined crofts with the large house of Tafts (16) in the centre. Tafts is thought to be the oldest two-storey dwelling house in Orkney (c15th century). The term Tafts (or Tofts) is thought to derive (9) from Old Norse 'Thopfts' meaning dwelling. Quandale provides a rare opportunity in Orkney This impressive broch was to investigate pre-improvement landscapes and recent survey and excavation has been constructed during the Iron Age, and undertaken. continued to be used in the Pictish NORTH period. The broch is in a striking location, surrounded by the sea, WASBISTER deep geos (inlets) and has a revetted rampart and ditch on the landward side. Inside, the broch contains The district of Wasbister stands out archaeologically as a special religious landscape with galleries, hearths, water tanks and a four medieval church sites and a possible prayer-house located in and around the loch. well or cellar. The inside of the Facing northwards to , the ecclesiastical nature of the district is unique in Orkney broch was divided into separate and the archaeological and historical evidence suggests this was a place of Christian worship rooms or cells with large upright from the early medieval period. Dedications to St Bride or Bridget, St Peter, The Holy slabs introduced during later phases. Cross, St Colm, indicate that Celtic, Scandinavian and Universal saints were venerated here There is a large settlement around and the place-name Benyiecot, prayer-cot, suggests there may once have been a religious the broch thought to date to the community living here. later phases of use. These contained workshops, with one building used MIDHOWE BROCH Max Fletcher GREEN GAIRSTY (17) for iron and bronze working. Damage has occurred from coastal erosion and the broch is now protected by a large sea See if you can spot a large bank which extends from the road down a steep slope to the cliff wall. Built in the style known as “cassying” it has resisted the Atlantic gales for decades. on the eastern side of the township as you drive up the hill to Kierfea Hill. These large land Midhowe broch is very well preserved and is one of only a few excavated brochs you can boundaries are known as treb dykes, and are thought to date to the prehistoric period. The visit in Orkney. It stands at approximately four metres in height with most of its outer wall best examples are found on North Ronaldsay where the whole island is divided into three and ground floor layout intact. Midhowe broch is actually one of three brochs with North parts by large treb dykes. Howe and South Howe either side.

10 7 WEST WEST

WESTNESS VIKING GRAVES (10) WESTNESS HOUSE (14)

In 1963, while burying a cow, a Viking woman’s grave (along with an infant) was found at The house was the principal house on Westness, close to where two Viking graves were previously found in 1826. In the grave, Rousay and the home of the Traill family two early to mid tortoise brooches, a zoomorphic dated until Trumland House was built in the late C750 A D and a bronze rectangular plaque (a gilt bronze mount filled with a wolf or lion on 19th century. In the 18th century, John a background of interlace) were found. This very rich grave also contained 40 beads, a long Traill was accused by Captain Benjamin bone hair-comb, implements for textile preparation, a sickle, a small piece of pumice and a Moodie, of Longhope, of being a Jacobite, bronze basin. and of supporting the 1745 rebellion. This resulted in a gunboat being sent out Close by, in 1971, a complete male Viking warrior grave was discovered. They had been from Kirkwall to sack and burn the buried with a shield and a game with 23 dice, dated to the early 10th century AD. This area house. John Traill fled, and is reputed to turned out to be a Viking and Pictish cemetery with 32 graves, two of which were boat- have escaped to The Gentleman’s Cave graves with weapons and tools. The cemetery dated from the 7th to the 11th century, and on Westray, his wife remained in Rousay. included both Pictish and Viking burials, many with grave goods. These varied depending on the status of the individual and included weapons (sword, axe, spear and arrows, shield- Not long after, he was re-instated and bosses), jewellery, tools (including sickles and adzes) and weaving implements. Evidence for paid compensation with which he built Pictish and Viking people being buried in the same cemetery is important when considering the present house around 1750. The WESTNESS HOUSE Max Fletcher whether the Viking settlement of Orkney was hostile or did they work with the local house was occupied by various members population? What do you think? of the Traill family and passed to Fredrich Burroughs in 1847 following the death of George Traill. The new absentee laird General Traill Burroughs moved to Rousay in 1863 having During the Norse period, Rousay was home to the powerful chieftain Sigurd of Westness. returned from serving in the army in India. He lived at Westness House for only a short He is frequently mentioned in Orkneyinga Saga, demonstrating the importance of this part of time after his marriage to Eliza D’Oyley Geddes, and soon began to build Trumland House. Orkney at the time. Important Viking and Norse remains are also found at Swandro (11). Westness House was then let to various tenants, mainly as a shooting lodge. The house th THE WIRK (12) contains original Arts and Crafts features following refurbishment in the early 20 century. In 1922 the house was sold, with the estate, to Walter Grant of the Highland Park distillery, The remains of this medieval stronghold can be seen at the edge of St Mary’s Kirk and he installed plumbing and electric lights. The house and gardens are not open to the graveyard. Dated architecturally to the 11th to 13th centuries AD, the large stone keep has public. evidence for an upper floor, possible toilets and a cellar with a tunnel to the east. The site was partly excavated in the early 1930s by Clouston who found that the tower was built on FARMSTEADS the seaward end of a large building proving that the tower was not free-standing but formed part of a large hallhouse comparable in size to the Bishop’s Palace in Kirkwall. There are strong similarities in construction between The Wirk and Cubbie Roo’s Castle on Wyre.

SKAILL FARMSTEAD UHI Archaeology Institute T ARY S IRK S M ’ K (13) Either side of St Mary's Kirk are the ruins of Skaill and Brough farmsteads (13). Brough is so called as it is located on the top of South Howe broch mound. These farms were cleared in The kirk dates to the late 1500s/early 1600s the mid-19th century, as part of the same waves of clearance that included Quandale, and is thought to replaced a medieval kirk although some farm workers lived at Skaill until the late 19th century. The lands of Skaill and (c 1300). Brough, along with Quandale, were consolidated into Westness Farm as part of agricultural

improvements instigated by Traill. Documentary evidence shows that Brough and Skaill were The present kirk was abandoned in the 1820s inhabited from the 14th century until they were cleared. Today, at both farms you can see after the clearance of Westness, but the the farmhouses, byres, barns and circular corn drying kilns once commonplace in traditional graveyard remained in use until the 1920s. farming communities. Skaill has been the focus of recent archaeological excavations, ST MARY’S KIRK UHI Archaeology Institute described on the pages 12 & 13. 8 9