A VIKING SETTLEMEN FRESWICKT TA , CAITHNES1 7 S I. A VIKING SETTLEMEN FRESWICKT TA , CAITHNESS. REPORT ON EXCAVATIONS CARRIED OUT IN 1937 AND 1938. BY A. O. CURLE, C.V.O., LL.D., F.S.A.ScoT., F.S.A. Anyone interested in the science of place-names "who studies the map of Caithness from that poin f vieo t w will observe thae nameth t e ar s divisible into two groups, on a philological as well as on a geographical basis. If the county is divided into two sections by a line drawn from Cross Kirk Bay, some 6 miles to the west of Thurso on the north, to the tow f Lybste no e south-eas th n o r t coast, thus separatin e hilth gl country fro lowlande mth t wili ,foun e b l examination do n that wherea placee sth - namee formeth e witexceptionn w i sar r h fe s Celti d Gaeliccan , thosn i e lattee th r have their root Scandinavian si n speech. Suc a hdistributio n pointa ver o yt s considerable displacemenf o t the native population during the period of the Norse settlement; for it can hardl supposee yb d thae Celtith t c people willingly relinquishee dth coasts and fertile tracts of land for the barren moors and mountains that for westere mth n portio countye th f no . Notwithstanding this abundant evidence of Norse occupation, no y buildinan trac f o eg referabl o that e t perio s observewa d d whee th n survey of the Antiquities of Caithness was made for the Royal Com- missio Ancienn no t Monument 1911n si . The earliest Viking settlements would probably be situated by the estuaries of the Wick and Thurso Rivers, on the sites of the present towns, where long since all traces of their existence must have been removed, or buried beneat e streetth hd housesan s . Attractive landing-places elsewhere on the coast, which is for the most part rocky and precipitous, are few and far between, but the bay of Freswick, some 6 miles south of Duncansby Head, with its shelving beach, is a marked exception to the rule. From as early as the time of Earl Sigurd, towards the close of the eleventh century e namth , f Freswicko e e for th f Thraswickm o n i , , flits across the pages of the Sagas. In the Saga of Burnt Njalx we read how Sigurd, having learnt that his brother-in-law "Havard in Thraswick" had bee ne Scot slaith y sn b Earls , Hund Melsnatid an i , gathered together a mighty host from all the isles and fought a battle at Duncansness, in whic e earlhth s were defeated. a Thelate t a nr date when Kari Solmundson, who had escaped from Njal's burning hall, struck off the e Story f Th 1Burnto Njal, translated fro e Icelandicmth Saga f Burnto r GeorgSi Njaly b e Dasent, chap. Ixxxiv. : 72 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , FEBRUAR , 1939Y13 . hea f Grunnao d r Lambi' t Eara n l so sSigurd' s fellowhi s d boardsan e h , s shi farehi o Freswickp t n i d , wher e s housabod th hi e too h en p ei eku o"wortha f y man, whose nam Skeggi,s ewa witd "an h whom they stayed a ver" y long time."1 Eventually, after Karmadd ha i a pilgrimagee , and obtained absolution, he returned to Freswick to the house of "Master" Skeggi gavo "m awh hi e, shi f burden,po d witan "h eighteen o n me n boar sailee dh d bac Icelando kt . At a still later date, in the Orkneyinga Saga, we find Freswick again coming into notice in connection with Sweyn Asleif's son, whose father Olaf had an estate at "Dungalsbae" (Duiicansby), where the former frequently resided. Sweyn, who was a very notable Viking, looked afte e estatth r f Freswic o e s stepsons d himselhi ha r d kfo a fortres f an , s in the neighbourhood, called Lambaborg, for which identification has been suggested both for Bucholie to the south of the bay and the Broch of Ness to the north. Incidentally, from this Saga we also learn that there were thickets in which men hid themselves at that date (1153) not far fro e "halmth f Freswick, o l greao n thad t an "ta t distance froe mth hall there was a farmstead. In the centre of the wide bay the sandy beach is backed with irregular banks of sand, which rise sharply to a height of 20 or 30 feet before attaining the general land level, and as yearly these banks are eroded and driven farther back by the tempestuous winds which prevail on that coast, their contours now probably differ considerably from those presented at the time of the Viking settlement. Back fro e beachmth , generationwherw fe ea thero meadows sag ewa - land, ther s nowi e , e combineowinth o t g d actio f burrowino n g rabbits and tearing winds, an area several acres in extent, reduced to an arid deser deef o t p hollow sanf occasionaso d dan l resistant ridges. From this area sherd f coarseo s , unglazed potteryt , no whic s wa h analogou y recognisean o t s d ware found elsewher Scotlandn ei d froha ,m tim timo et e bee nMuseume senth findin e o t Th potterf .go similaf yo r character at Jarlshof in Shetland, associated with a Viking settlement, furnishe e means identificationth it d f o se sand th a visi o d yt t an are, a wala f o l emerginp e discoverto th lee o dt th gf yo e fro e sanon m th n di e hollowe osoutherth fth n o s n e characteristilimitTh . c featur f thio e s e explaineb potteryy ma dt i e ,numerou here,th s i , s impressione th n o s surface huske th strawd f s an o ,oatsf o , which have been employex mi o dt with, or temper, the clay, in order to bring it to a proper consistency for potting. Over most of the sandy area there were exposed evidences of occupation in the shape of traces of building, midden refuse, hearths, and burnt broken stones suc wers ha e use Norsn di e cookinproducinr fo d gan g stea bathsr mfo . 1 Ibid., chap. cliv. • A VIKING SETTLEMEN T FRESWICKA T , CAITHNESS3 7 . The exploratio s commencenwa Junn di e wore th 1937 kd carriean . d a furthe r onfo r perioweekx si f do s durin e summegth e f 1938o r Th . outcropping wall above referred to made a suitable starting-point. It lay approximately east and west along the edge of the hollow, and was formed with large boulders from the beach. Eventually it proved to be the north face of a typical Viking wall, measuring a metre in width with a core of compacted earth in the centre. The remains of buildings which were revealed following this discovery have been grouped under thre e, accordin C heads d , Ban A ,, o thei gt r apparent age, commencing with the latest. GROU. PA The buildin f whico g e walth h l mentioned above forme e soutth d h fron oblongs t wa measureplansd n (No, o an 2) , 1 . d , figsan d 1 .interiorl y beed ha nfeet 4 t I 1 subjecte .3y 0b somo dt e reconstruction walle th r s ,fo at the east and \vest ends were of different character. Where best pre- served, the building had an elevation of from 2 to 3 feet. The area contained within the walls was covered deep in kitchen-midden refuse, and there was no definite floor recognisable over the greater part of it. The doorway fee 3 ,width n i t places norte th wa , n hdi walpoina t a l t fee1 1 t distant fro wese m th ker o t n silr endbo d l an remaine, d betwees nit jambs t abouA . foo1 t inche6 t s inwards fro e doorwaymth largo tw ,e uprigh tedg n protrudind slabo et an se s g abov floor-levee eth heigha o t l t of a few inches extended for a length of 6 feet 6 inches—evidently the bas somf eo e arrangement employe screeo dt fire nth e behind them froma rush of wind. In the centre axis of the house, towards the west end, and covered partiall e projectinth y yb g flagstones e hearthth y la ,, measuring some 11 feet in length by 3 feet 9 inches in breadth. There were no remain surroundina f so gpavinf o ker r bgno beneath. smala ease Ad tth lten rectangular construction with built sides occupied the centre of the wall. It measured 2 feet in height, and its upper surface wa suggeso leveo t s s a l t tha e levellinth t beed gha n purposely effected. As may be seen from the plan (fig. 2), the structure had not been laid on a square foundation, the north side being 3 feet shorter than the south, so that the spaces on either side were not symmetrical. On the floor of the dwelling, between the hearth and the front wall of this interior structure, heavy flagstones had been laid in two distinct rows from an area of scattered paving at the west end (PI. XXXVIII, 1).