Hower, Prehistoric Structure on Papa Westray

HOWER, PREHISTORIC STRUCTUR PAPN O E A WESTRAY9 30 . IV. HOWER PREHISTORIA , C STRUCTUR PAPN EO A WESTRAY, ORKNEY. BY WILLIAM TRAILL, C.E., J.P., F.S.A.ScoT., AND WILLIAM KIRKNESS, E.S.A.ScoT. This repor illustrates wa t . silenmm td 6 film1 witfee 0 f o ht.40 Sandstorms have preserved for Scottish archaeology another prehistoric settlement in Orkney. The site under review lies on the west side of the small island of Papa Westray, an island which has already contributed much to our knowledge of a long-forgotten past. Evidence e occupatiooth f thif no s settlemen bees ha t n know islandere th o nt r sfo a long time as each succeeding storm sends huge seas battering the face of the cliff, and carrying away parts of the foreshore on which it is situated. The name Hower -was given to the site by the Norsemen. The word is the plural of "how," a mound, because at one time the site was occupied by more than one mound. To-day the islanders speak e Kna th e f sit Howers o pth a fe , showing that they have forgotten the original meaning of the word. Knap means a cap, and one could e moundsth f o p . t e knaca spea th no r f o po k Encroachmen a showese e s thau dth ty b unlest s excavatios wa n done very soon, a survey of this site would be impossible, as it would be entirely swept away. e masonrSanth f a do o covereyt p to e dth depth of some 8 feet. After this was cleared, the work of excavating was comparatively easy. The inside of the building was full of sand, which was very quickly disposed of by throwing it over the cliff. The excavation revealed two buildings lying parallel to each other, the larger being situate e othere sout th lyind th f an o ho ,dt g wit s maihit n axis N.WS.Ed an . (fig . .Bot1) h building constructee sar dry-builf do t rubble masonry. The inside of the larger building somewhat resembles the outlin figura f eo eighf eo aree plan n o taTh .withi thice nth k enclosing wall is 32 feet long and 16 feet wide, and is divided transversely into two parts or chambers by stone slabs set in alignment but having intervals between them. The side slabs are bonded into the lateral walls, and while these slabs stand as high as the remaining height of e wallth , approximatel feet5 y , they appea havo t r e been broket a f nof slabe Th sp (fig . to formin .2) e th e middlgth e portio e partitioth f no n 310 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MARCH 8, 1937. complete ar onld ean y measur feee2 inche4 t s high (fig plae . 3)nTh . show s kerbstones in the middle of the partition which may be the remains of a smal e nortl lobbyth n he inne O th sid . f reo chamber fee2 , t 3"inches abov e flooraumbryn a eth s i , fee2 , inche2 t sfoo1 wid inche2 d t ean s Fig. 1. Plan of Structure at Hower. high, of the usual type found in early buildings. On the south side e wal closd th thin i lan o et s chambe saddle-quera r founds o nwa Tw . rubbers largee on , r tha othere nth , whic beed hha n used with this quern, were got on the floor which at this part was covered with ground shells of shellfish. The entire side of the south wall of the outer chamber of this building was occupied by a low platform 4 inches high. It had been divided by thin stone slabs and may suggest bed accommodation. The plan show shora s t lengt foundatiof ho ne outsid e th wal th n f o le o HOWER, PREHISTORIC STRUCTURE ON PAPA WESTRAY. 311 structure, with a pavement of heavy slabs opposite the main entrance. destroyeo s s ha a d se thiErosio e sth featury nb e tha s purposit tt no s ei ascertainable. e buildinEntrth obtaines o yt gwa a stone-covere y db d passage-way fee6 , t long fee3 , t fee4 wide inche8 d t an , se highth n i , centrwese th f t entrance o end Th . e doorway shows some exceedingly interesting features. The door-checks are formed of stone slabs set on end, whic passage-wa e placee reae th h ar f th r o t da y instea nearef do e rth middle where one would expect to find them. Apparently the door has been of light framework, because the openings in the stone jambs, which were made to receive the cross-bars used for keeping it- shut, are very small. The communicating passage, which gives direct access to the other chamber, is also stone-covered. It measures 8 feet long fee5 , t throug soute wale th hf th h o l chambe 3 fee d t an througr e walth h l fee2 e north 6 s th ti n t i o ; e on e oth f inches wide, and 3 feet 4 inches high. The jambs consist of upright slabs, but the door-checks are at the other end of passagee th , thus showing that this entry could only be locked from the building on Fig . Hower2 . : Slab bonded into waln o l the north. The smaller building, which is north side of larger building. 30 feet long and 12 feet broad inside the walls, is somewhat similar in shape to the other. Its walls are not so high and, generally, the structure is in a more ruinous condition, but from the character of the dry-stone masonry and other details it may be regarded as contemporary. Two parallel rows of slabs set across the structure have partitioned it into three compartments maie Th n .doorwa alss yoha bee nshore builth t ea t end. When excavated, this doorway was found to have been blocked up, as was the case with the rear of the doorway leading directly into e adjoininth g building. This main doorwa d checkyha s consistinf o g upright slab notee b s y dsimilaothee doorso thama th t tw ro a I t r . piece of cetacean bone was used as building material in the wall of this chamber at the doorway of the communicating passage. thire inmosr Th do t compartmen possibls i t mose yth t remarkables a , the greater part of the wall had been faced with slabs set on edge with other slabs projected from the mo fort ma serie f cubicleo s r stallo s s round the end. Filling the entire south wall of this chamber, three 312 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MARCH 8, 1937. small cupboards of masonry, approximately 1 foot high, had been constructed in the thickness of the wall 1 foot 6 inches above the floor. No indicatio purpose th o t thesf s eno a e stall cupboardd san revealeds swa . Two pits were found in the floor of this chamber, of which one in the front of the cupboards, measuring approximately 12 inches by 10 inches, Fig. 3. Hower: Larger building from the south-east. contained som n immatura e bone d a youn an f o sx e o g sheep, alsoa hammer-stone. This pit was covered with a stone slab. The rough formation of stones round the other pit, which measures 2 feet by 14 inches, suggest a well, as the enclosed space is continuously wet, winten i d ran contains clear water. Some bone werx o f shee o sed pan go thi n i t talso spi , whic similarls hwa y coveredflooe th rn nead o an t ,i r level \vere two horn cores of oxen. e middlth n I e compartment o cupboardtw , r recesseo s d beeha sn e soutbuilth hn i t wall foo1 , inche6 t s abov e floor d slabeth d an , an s very rough masonry of a later occupation formed a partition 2 feet 6 inche norte wale th fron n sth i n h spaclo f e sideo t Th e. behind reminded HOWER, PREHISTORIC STRUCTUR PAPN O E A WESTRAY3 31 . one of the so-called bed recesses found elsewhere in Orkney; but here the space was filled with earth and debris. From the amount of masonry which the spade has laid bare, this site has obviously been one of considerable importance. In considering e structures e th date evidenc th f s th begi o eu o t t ns le ,a e wit e hth buildings d comparan , e the world-famouw m no wit e hth s settlemenf o t Skara Brae, als Orkneyn oi . differena Skar n i s ai t geographical setting. A large sandy bay was selected by this colony of workers, and it would appear that this locatio s necessarnwa r theiyfo r work s despita , e eth sandstorms "which repeatedly buried their buildings, generation after generation struggled to clear out the sand. Sometimes they found re- building an easier way, but they continued to live on the site. There suco in e smasonr h th e builderst Howersanda o th t y f s yo yA ba ., does it give us any clue in our attempt to establish a date for Hower? The buildings at both places show rounded corners, but the type of masonry at Hower is of a much superior quality to that of Skara, and no feature as elaborate as our door-checks was designed by their archi- tectshave W e.

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