Saturday, March 13, 2004
LESS WELL-KNOWN INDIVIDUAL SITES IN ORKNEY I HAVE BEEN AT
KNOWE OF ONSTON
All the years that I have been in Orkney of all the major sites to look at I had never been to the Knowe of Onston , despite its lying alongside the main road just short of the Brig o'Waithe . Somehow it looked insignificant and also I was put off by the thought of crawling through some damp passage . Then I saw a photo of the inside on a website and was surprised by the light and space . So one weekend two weeks later I finally paid homage to the Unstan Tomb , finding it to be just as the photo showed . Such a contrast to the Cuween Hill Cairn : there really was a short crawl , here more a shambling crouch , there the main compartment only fairly visible with a lantern , here apart (alas) for the side-chamber it was as if you were out in the open . The place is refreshing to look at and in my limited opinion is as good as our stalled cairns get , short of a trip to Rousay . . A couple visiting at the time were impressed by the use of red sandstone slabs.
TINGWALL
A long minor road that leads you to the Broch of Gurness on the headland . On this stretch of coast , facing Rousay of the fabulous tombs , are the remains of many brochs . But this is the only one viewable up close as a scenic site for visitors . Further down the road to Finstown lies the Tingwall road , and if you go down to the pier to catch a boat to Rousay just before you reach farm in front of the pier , on the left of the road lies Thing-Voll Broch , a Broch and thing site [ resembling Dingieshowe Broch in this ] . But it is much fragmented and encumbered by much earth still ) . This is a lovely multi-period site , much excavated ; not just the broch alone but many houses and extensive turfed ditches .
MINE HOWE
Head out to the airport and past it you will come to the Mine Howe site on the left . Little to be seen on the surface apart from where they have exposed a section of ditch , above which lies the entrance to the famous bit . Not recommended for those prone to bad backs if my experience is anything to go by . To get in you have to go down basically a steel ladder , back to everything . It isn't as deep as the impression you will have gained from the literature - or maybe my spatial perceptions are awry . A good place for digital camera and flash . Mighty fine . If you don't fancy the climb down there is a truncated version close by on another hillock , less sense of adventure but only a few steps down to the floor .( Not much further along the Deerness Road , at a place where it narrows and there is sea on either side , you will find Dingieshowe Broch . And about the same in the opposite direction is Campston Broch ) .
DINGIESHOWE BROCH HY547033
Not much further along the Deerness Road , at a place where it narrows and there is sea on either side , you will find Dingieshowe .To reach Dingieshowe Bay itself means passing through huge grass-covered sand dunes . The one standing on your right is actually Dingieshowe Broch , with a cental depression but not much else to tell it apart . This is where the trolls have their thing in the autumn . The beach has two distinct sections , the sands in front of you and on the left a gorgeous pebbly beach for the geologists amongst us .
TOMB OF THE EAGLES
Going on past St.Margaret's Hope you almost reach Burwick at the tip before finding the turning for the Tomb of the Eagles on the left . Never been there yet , but it is the place to go for a real sense of ancient family . This is also one of those archaeological sites that we would not have in all their glory if it had not been for the enterprising curiosity of a native Orcadian . Even emergency excavations often owe more to their location skills in the first place than the reports show .
HARRAY VIEWPOINT HY309140
On the Grimstone Road that leads down to Maes Howe a viewpoint has been 'created' in close proximity to the Loch of Harray . Pass over the new Viewpoint and you come to a mound maybe half the height of Maes Howe but in the past I feel more a centre of the human landscape , as you can tell if you look around from the top . Though it doesn't appear on RCAHMS extensive list of all kinds of sites there are obvious signs of previous diggings . In the excavated depression atop the mound is a very small section of structure ( just two or three bits of slab really ) that certainly give the appearance of being prehistoric . Another time I saw a large stone in what was left of a trench on the landward side . In the lochside adjoining the mound , at suitable tides , can be seen a rectangular structure ( perhaps mediaeval ) under the water .
THE HOWIE OF THE MANSE HY514090
This broch sits on a small headland jutting out into the lower end of the Loch of Tankerness .Two ways to reach the site , neither straightforward and both requiring boots .
One is to follow the mill stream and step on and over the wall where the stream comes to the loch shore , then follow the shoreline to your right . This way is very marshy and somewhat treacherous . An interesting feature of the wall is that ( on the one side of the stream at least ) it is formed of two courses of thin slabs set on end - this I would associate with the builders of the 19thC Mill as it looks rather out of place in Orkney to me .Over the stream is a most curious construction . Following the shoreline there are places where stones appear placed by the hand of man .
Alternatively go up the hill from the Tankerness Mill and just round the road from Northwood House the sound of doves comes from Glebe . Go to the field that is directly behind this then downfield to the shore . It tends to be rather suckily muddy in many places . I would suggest going down the left-hand as the wall does a few strange things - there are two standing stones built into walls , one inside aligned with a wall and another at right angles to a wall ending it but lacking holes or other indications of having been a gatepost .. Down at the bottom of this field there are a few 'sets' of large stones that would seem to represent former structures here ( in my opinion at least ) - I may be wrong but would note that at the Hall of Tankerness junction smack in the middle of a field stands a solitary standing stone with packing that does not appear on CANMORE either . To get to the headland requires going through a barbed wire fence , which fortunately has plenty of give in it or I'd never have managed it .
It is one of the least prepossessing brochs I have seen , though at the seaward end it stands rather higher than the likes of Oxtro . At first sight I thought that there was nothing . Going towards it you can certainly feel plenty of apparently isolated stones hidden beneath the grass but no sense of stucture that I could tell . Coming to the highpoint and taking the line around you certainly get a strong feel for where the inner and outer walls were , going by the turf . Then I reached the top and there was a roughly rectangular depression . Looking on the inner side I made out several slabs in a non-radial line . So I did some rooting about and tearing off of the overhanging grass . Definitely a straight wall , remaining about six foot long and a foot or so high . The other side is less well defined , a few loose stones as far as I could tell and not so obviously slabs . If you go poking about then gloves are a necessity - the place is covered in almost invisibly short nettles , I can fully feel the nasty little buggers several hours later !
RING OF BOOKAN
Second time I reached the Ring of Bookan . Knowing now where it was as I went up the hill past where Bookan tomb lay to the top there was its outline to my left , a long low mound with a cleft in the middle in which a rectangular stone is prominent . The first time I saw it was as an unimpressive but still high mound , two fields away from the road and with a big hollow interior in which I saw a large standing stone and some less distinct stuff besides . Must have been a vision over an optical illusion . Because it is in the one field and there is no central empty space !! The direct route I took opposite the farm you have to climb over a metal gate because this gate is only held to the posts by fencing wire , meaning you can't open it in the regular manner . Walking towards it I was pleasantly surprised by the size and excellent condition of the surrounding ditch , which put me in mind of Maes Howe ( though later this ditch called to mind Stackrue Broch down the other side of the hill : perhaps this like The Howe not only goes forward to Viking times but back to to the Neolithic - the subterranean passage could have been put through a tomb entrance as with the souterrain there ) . The stones I had seen were on a platform-like area across the mound . This is easiest accessed from the extreme left so I made my procession counter-clockwise to extend the moments . Coming to my extreme right and looking in there seems to be an area of grass on the central mound indicative of an henge-type entrance long gone . Down on the hillside portion there are exposed the friable stones of whatever structure underlies the mound's exterior - this is so fragmented that I can't help wondering if the builders used some pre-existant natural for a starting point at least . From here you can see the decent-sized mound of Skae Frue ( alias Wasbuster ) below , which being low on film I left in case it held any surprises . It is not obvious to me whether the 'platform' is archaeology or excavation . There is quite a lot going on there , possibly more than one structure even going by what is immediately obvious/visible , and you could use up a whole film trying to make sense of it . The archaeologists are unsure whether this is a henge or a tomb but I feel it could have been both ( if some tombs were based-on , or incorporated , standing stones then this brings them closer to multi-period henge development - there is a divergence from a common origin let's say ) .
RENNIBISTER SOUTERRAIN
Coming back up the road from having visited Ingshowe Broch I at long last paid a visit to Rennibister - hadn't realised TMA is without fieldnotes till I came back . Always been put off by the idea of crawling through the 2' square entrance passage and then this last month I find there is a ladder down from the top like at Wideford Hill Cairn ! If only the gate in the fence around it wasn't so stuck , the bolt took a lot of convincing to come back across . Down inside I turned around and felt almost hemmed in . As you descend you notice the uppermost corbelling and the flat 'roof' are painted grey to show they're not original . Around the sides are several rectangular niches . Opposite the ladder off the bottom is that entrance passage , easier than the dimensions make you think but damp gravel on the floor and trousers not scruffy enough made me give it a miss . Looking in there was light beyond that made me believe the other end still open ( thirty foot long I was once told ) but out in the open it probably needs more than the cursory search that I made . This is another of those places best suited to a compact camera ( digital for extensive depth of focus ) and flash .
INGSHOWE
On the very tip of the little headland down from Rennibister souterrain this site is a lot better than it looks from the road . You have to go over a barred metal gate , inside which is the usual muddy rectangle where livestock have gathered . The grass-coverd mount presents a slightly horned apparance . From the rocks by the burn to the furthest on the left rock the mound totals 52m and from this line to the seaward side maxes out at 16m as the mound rises . At its highest points I made it to be 2-2.5m structure remaining . Next obstacle is two barb-wire fences under a metre apart running across the top - my little legs just made it . Most of the lower mound is before this , and as I found out the better stones are scattered across here . Coming up to the top there is an area of scattered stones , about two metres wide and encompassing 13m across , which appears to go around what remains of the central tower ( the turfed horny section ) . You can make out inner and outer walls . As I climbed over to the coastline several fulmars flew out from the cliff-face . I found a spot on the left where I could get down to the shore - I must warn you that I found the seaweed around the cliff deep and slippy-slidey . From here you can follow from the left about 36m of remaining structure . Most of this wall is exposed , but alas the majority of the stonework is ( now at least ) small friable stuff . But the base is exceptionally well delineated a thin black and brown section ramrod staight ! Before I left I turned to look at some big birds in the sea . Imagine my surprise when the binoculars revealed one to be a seal just offshore . And the others turned out to be seal heads too . I made out five . The one nearest me revealed its flippers additionally as it bathed . At this point I left them to the quiet .
GRIEVES COTTAGE
Second time I needed a closer look at the standing stone in order to take measurements to add to the meagre pictures taken from the road previously ( it does not appear on CANMORE so I want to notify RCAHMS ) . At the Hall of Tankerness junction the corner of the wall has had the top knocked off , but this is not the correct approach - go up the road a little more and through the barred metal gate then make your way back down . The crop mark visible on the photo marks out the site as 7m radius . The stone sits in a depression that holds several stones making an area 2.5m radius except for the side facing the road that only survives out to 1.4m . Coming to the standing stone , this is 1.4m by 0.34m by 8cm and tapers from a shoulder to 18cm ( which may not be the original top as it looks broken off ) . The packing survives best at the back where the exposed slab extends past either end , round the front is a big sod that holds several fragments of small slabs . This socket ( possibly more nearly semi-circular originally ) measures 0.6m from front to back . Seeing a track running along the field about here I thought for a moment I was dealing with part of a long-gone boundary . But going up and looking back the track is not on a line with the stone , and indeed makes a fairly obvious curve to go around the site .
CRAW HOWE
Near the airport but one for the yompers this . Essayed it on the way back from Mine Howe . Coming from this direction I tried the field to the left of the cottage but found it to be waterlogged ground crisscrossed by ground water . So I made it through the waste ground to the right . Still one for the welly brigade perhaps as there was boggy bits and the very rough pasture on the way consists of large tussocks jostling for position . Not much further down the road is a Nissen hut and I would advise visitors to go by the track alongside this and the strike across for the howe . Craw Howe is the mound just behind the pool extending to the fence crossing the right-hand end . Maybe the two other mounds are part of the hill one sees too . Probably not really worth all that effort as very little sense can be made of it . There are obvious signs of prior excavation/s and some of the stones on top are of recent origin .
HAWELL BURNT MOUND
This site lies close to an exceptionally zigzaggy burn ( another mound of similar nature now gone ) . Down the road fom Mine Howe looking to the right I could see a long green mound and at one end a standing stone . Coming round the junction nearer to Hawell I now saw another stone at right-angles to the first and apparently abutting it . On the other side of the road by the corner of Hawell at the roadside were two stones echoing the sight , the one parallel to the road having piercings top and bottom on one side . RCAHMS NMRS record HY50NW 10 describes this as several stone compatments with a slab-formed rectangular tank just off .
Well worth a visit if you are into decayed structures , 6 out of 10 . Entered the field by climbing over a wooden gate that is difficult owing to the close construction . First sight is a long mound with a standing stone on the left and a circular depression in the centre . Closer to the standing stone is the end of a close packed straight wall that still is exposed for several yards . From afar you can make out a few small stones about the depression , so it comes as a pleasant surprise as one climbs ever so slightly to look down and see this is filled by large slabs even if no clearly discernable structure . The back of the mound survives a bit higher , so it is a disappointment when one goes behind that this appears so nondescript . Here are the two modern structures that are presumably where the second mound used to be .
STEM HOWE
Having been to the top of the knoll on which St.Ninian's Chapel is supposed to be I see no bigger hills behind and so presume that this knoll actually is Stem Howe . Oh , there are stones there but what is most obvious is a large ( formerly standing ? ) stone of a type that leads me to believe that this wasn't the site of the chapel [ this visit I think I may have found a worked stone from said chapel , set into the wall at the bottom of the slight rise to Mine Howe . This 75x30x15 cm stone's face is a round-cornered rectangle incised with two perfect rectangles along the edge , defaced by two relatively modern graffito ] . As I wrote previously this continues round to the right as two more hills , reminiscent parhaps of the Round Howe - Long Howe - Mine Howe continuance . On closer inspection I find these hills peppered with shallow excavations , most of which stop when they hit stone . Behind the rightmost hill is a pair of holed standing stones , presumably formerly used as gateposts though one is now part of a barbedwire fence and the other is at an angle to this and it's packing still survives well . The cemetery ( with the St. Ninian's Chapel former site probably within ) nestles under the hill's/hills shadow like a chick beneath a hen's arching wing .
KNOWE OF ONSTON
All the years that I have been in Orkney of all the major sites to look at I had never been to the Knowe of Onston , despite its lying alongside the main road just short of the Brig o'Waithe . Somehow it looked insignificant and also I was put off by the thought of crawling through some damp passage . Then I saw a photo of the inside on a website and was surprised by the light and space . So one weekend two weeks later I finally paid homage to the Unstan Tomb , finding it to be just as the photo showed . Such a contrast to the Cuween Hill Cairn : there really was a short crawl , here more a shambling crouch , there the main compartment only fairly visible with a lantern , here apart (alas) for the side-chamber it was as if you were out in the open . The place is refreshing to look at and in my limited opinion is as good as our stalled cairns get , short of a trip to Rousay . . A couple visiting at the time were impressed by the use of red sandstone slabs.
TINGWALL
A long minor road that leads you to the Broch of Gurness on the headland . On this stretch of coast , facing Rousay of the fabulous tombs , are the remains of many brochs . But this is the only one viewable up close as a scenic site for visitors . Further down the road to Finstown lies the Tingwall road , and if you go down to the pier to catch a boat to Rousay just before you reach farm in front of the pier , on the left of the road lies Thing-Voll Broch , a Broch and thing site [ resembling Dingieshowe Broch in this ] . But it is much fragmented and encumbered by much earth still ) . This is a lovely multi-period site , much excavated ; not just the broch alone but many houses and extensive turfed ditches .
MINE HOWE
Head out to the airport and past it you will come to the Mine Howe site on the left . Little to be seen on the surface apart from where they have exposed a section of ditch , above which lies the entrance to the famous bit . Not recommended for those prone to bad backs if my experience is anything to go by . To get in you have to go down basically a steel ladder , back to everything . It isn't as deep as the impression you will have gained from the literature - or maybe my spatial perceptions are awry . A good place for digital camera and flash . Mighty fine . If you don't fancy the climb down there is a truncated version close by on another hillock , less sense of adventure but only a few steps down to the floor .( Not much further along the Deerness Road , at a place where it narrows and there is sea on either side , you will find Dingieshowe Broch . And about the same in the opposite direction is Campston Broch ) .
DINGIESHOWE BROCH HY547033
Not much further along the Deerness Road , at a place where it narrows and there is sea on either side , you will find Dingieshowe .To reach Dingieshowe Bay itself means passing through huge grass-covered sand dunes . The one standing on your right is actually Dingieshowe Broch , with a cental depression but not much else to tell it apart . This is where the trolls have their thing in the autumn . The beach has two distinct sections , the sands in front of you and on the left a gorgeous pebbly beach for the geologists amongst us .
TOMB OF THE EAGLES
Going on past St.Margaret's Hope you almost reach Burwick at the tip before finding the turning for the Tomb of the Eagles on the left . Never been there yet , but it is the place to go for a real sense of ancient family . This is also one of those archaeological sites that we would not have in all their glory if it had not been for the enterprising curiosity of a native Orcadian . Even emergency excavations often owe more to their location skills in the first place than the reports show .
HARRAY VIEWPOINT HY309140
On the Grimstone Road that leads down to Maes Howe a viewpoint has been 'created' in close proximity to the Loch of Harray . Pass over the new Viewpoint and you come to a mound maybe half the height of Maes Howe but in the past I feel more a centre of the human landscape , as you can tell if you look around from the top . Though it doesn't appear on RCAHMS extensive list of all kinds of sites there are obvious signs of previous diggings . In the excavated depression atop the mound is a very small section of structure ( just two or three bits of slab really ) that certainly give the appearance of being prehistoric . Another time I saw a large stone in what was left of a trench on the landward side . In the lochside adjoining the mound , at suitable tides , can be seen a rectangular structure ( perhaps mediaeval ) under the water .
THE HOWIE OF THE MANSE HY514090
This broch sits on a small headland jutting out into the lower end of the Loch of Tankerness .Two ways to reach the site , neither straightforward and both requiring boots .
One is to follow the mill stream and step on and over the wall where the stream comes to the loch shore , then follow the shoreline to your right . This way is very marshy and somewhat treacherous . An interesting feature of the wall is that ( on the one side of the stream at least ) it is formed of two courses of thin slabs set on end - this I would associate with the builders of the 19thC Mill as it looks rather out of place in Orkney to me .Over the stream is a most curious construction . Following the shoreline there are places where stones appear placed by the hand of man .
Alternatively go up the hill from the Tankerness Mill and just round the road from Northwood House the sound of doves comes from Glebe . Go to the field that is directly behind this then downfield to the shore . It tends to be rather suckily muddy in many places . I would suggest going down the left-hand as the wall does a few strange things - there are two standing stones built into walls , one inside aligned with a wall and another at right angles to a wall ending it but lacking holes or other indications of having been a gatepost .. Down at the bottom of this field there are a few 'sets' of large stones that would seem to represent former structures here ( in my opinion at least ) - I may be wrong but would note that at the Hall of Tankerness junction smack in the middle of a field stands a solitary standing stone with packing that does not appear on CANMORE either . To get to the headland requires going through a barbed wire fence , which fortunately has plenty of give in it or I'd never have managed it .
It is one of the least prepossessing brochs I have seen , though at the seaward end it stands rather higher than the likes of Oxtro . At first sight I thought that there was nothing . Going towards it you can certainly feel plenty of apparently isolated stones hidden beneath the grass but no sense of stucture that I could tell . Coming to the highpoint and taking the line around you certainly get a strong feel for where the inner and outer walls were , going by the turf . Then I reached the top and there was a roughly rectangular depression . Looking on the inner side I made out several slabs in a non-radial line . So I did some rooting about and tearing off of the overhanging grass . Definitely a straight wall , remaining about six foot long and a foot or so high . The other side is less well defined , a few loose stones as far as I could tell and not so obviously slabs . If you go poking about then gloves are a necessity - the place is covered in almost invisibly short nettles , I can fully feel the nasty little buggers several hours later !
RING OF BOOKAN
Second time I reached the Ring of Bookan . Knowing now where it was as I went up the hill past where Bookan tomb lay to the top there was its outline to my left , a long low mound with a cleft in the middle in which a rectangular stone is prominent . The first time I saw it was as an unimpressive but still high mound , two fields away from the road and with a big hollow interior in which I saw a large standing stone and some less distinct stuff besides . Must have been a vision over an optical illusion . Because it is in the one field and there is no central empty space !! The direct route I took opposite the farm you have to climb over a metal gate because this gate is only held to the posts by fencing wire , meaning you can't open it in the regular manner . Walking towards it I was pleasantly surprised by the size and excellent condition of the surrounding ditch , which put me in mind of Maes Howe ( though later this ditch called to mind Stackrue Broch down the other side of the hill : perhaps this like The Howe not only goes forward to Viking times but back to to the Neolithic - the subterranean passage could have been put through a tomb entrance as with the souterrain there ) . The stones I had seen were on a platform-like area across the mound . This is easiest accessed from the extreme left so I made my procession counter-clockwise to extend the moments . Coming to my extreme right and looking in there seems to be an area of grass on the central mound indicative of an henge-type entrance long gone . Down on the hillside portion there are exposed the friable stones of whatever structure underlies the mound's exterior - this is so fragmented that I can't help wondering if the builders used some pre-existant natural for a starting point at least . From here you can see the decent-sized mound of Skae Frue ( alias Wasbuster ) below , which being low on film I left in case it held any surprises . It is not obvious to me whether the 'platform' is archaeology or excavation . There is quite a lot going on there , possibly more than one structure even going by what is immediately obvious/visible , and you could use up a whole film trying to make sense of it . The archaeologists are unsure whether this is a henge or a tomb but I feel it could have been both ( if some tombs were based-on , or incorporated , standing stones then this brings them closer to multi-period henge development - there is a divergence from a common origin let's say ) .
RENNIBISTER SOUTERRAIN
Coming back up the road from having visited Ingshowe Broch I at long last paid a visit to Rennibister - hadn't realised TMA is without fieldnotes till I came back . Always been put off by the idea of crawling through the 2' square entrance passage and then this last month I find there is a ladder down from the top like at Wideford Hill Cairn ! If only the gate in the fence around it wasn't so stuck , the bolt took a lot of convincing to come back across . Down inside I turned around and felt almost hemmed in . As you descend you notice the uppermost corbelling and the flat 'roof' are painted grey to show they're not original . Around the sides are several rectangular niches . Opposite the ladder off the bottom is that entrance passage , easier than the dimensions make you think but damp gravel on the floor and trousers not scruffy enough made me give it a miss . Looking in there was light beyond that made me believe the other end still open ( thirty foot long I was once told ) but out in the open it probably needs more than the cursory search that I made . This is another of those places best suited to a compact camera ( digital for extensive depth of focus ) and flash .
INGSHOWE
On the very tip of the little headland down from Rennibister souterrain this site is a lot better than it looks from the road . You have to go over a barred metal gate , inside which is the usual muddy rectangle where livestock have gathered . The grass-coverd mount presents a slightly horned apparance . From the rocks by the burn to the furthest on the left rock the mound totals 52m and from this line to the seaward side maxes out at 16m as the mound rises . At its highest points I made it to be 2-2.5m structure remaining . Next obstacle is two barb-wire fences under a metre apart running across the top - my little legs just made it . Most of the lower mound is before this , and as I found out the better stones are scattered across here . Coming up to the top there is an area of scattered stones , about two metres wide and encompassing 13m across , which appears to go around what remains of the central tower ( the turfed horny section ) . You can make out inner and outer walls . As I climbed over to the coastline several fulmars flew out from the cliff-face . I found a spot on the left where I could get down to the shore - I must warn you that I found the seaweed around the cliff deep and slippy-slidey . From here you can follow from the left about 36m of remaining structure . Most of this wall is exposed , but alas the majority of the stonework is ( now at least ) small friable stuff . But the base is exceptionally well delineated a thin black and brown section ramrod staight ! Before I left I turned to look at some big birds in the sea . Imagine my surprise when the binoculars revealed one to be a seal just offshore . And the others turned out to be seal heads too . I made out five . The one nearest me revealed its flippers additionally as it bathed . At this point I left them to the quiet .
GRIEVES COTTAGE
Second time I needed a closer look at the standing stone in order to take measurements to add to the meagre pictures taken from the road previously ( it does not appear on CANMORE so I want to notify RCAHMS ) . At the Hall of Tankerness junction the corner of the wall has had the top knocked off , but this is not the correct approach - go up the road a little more and through the barred metal gate then make your way back down . The crop mark visible on the photo marks out the site as 7m radius . The stone sits in a depression that holds several stones making an area 2.5m radius except for the side facing the road that only survives out to 1.4m . Coming to the standing stone , this is 1.4m by 0.34m by 8cm and tapers from a shoulder to 18cm ( which may not be the original top as it looks broken off ) . The packing survives best at the back where the exposed slab extends past either end , round the front is a big sod that holds several fragments of small slabs . This socket ( possibly more nearly semi-circular originally ) measures 0.6m from front to back . Seeing a track running along the field about here I thought for a moment I was dealing with part of a long-gone boundary . But going up and looking back the track is not on a line with the stone , and indeed makes a fairly obvious curve to go around the site .
CRAW HOWE
Near the airport but one for the yompers this . Essayed it on the way back from Mine Howe . Coming from this direction I tried the field to the left of the cottage but found it to be waterlogged ground crisscrossed by ground water . So I made it through the waste ground to the right . Still one for the welly brigade perhaps as there was boggy bits and the very rough pasture on the way consists of large tussocks jostling for position . Not much further down the road is a Nissen hut and I would advise visitors to go by the track alongside this and the strike across for the howe . Craw Howe is the mound just behind the pool extending to the fence crossing the right-hand end . Maybe the two other mounds are part of the hill one sees too . Probably not really worth all that effort as very little sense can be made of it . There are obvious signs of prior excavation/s and some of the stones on top are of recent origin .
HAWELL BURNT MOUND
This site lies close to an exceptionally zigzaggy burn ( another mound of similar nature now gone ) . Down the road fom Mine Howe looking to the right I could see a long green mound and at one end a standing stone . Coming round the junction nearer to Hawell I now saw another stone at right-angles to the first and apparently abutting it . On the other side of the road by the corner of Hawell at the roadside were two stones echoing the sight , the one parallel to the road having piercings top and bottom on one side . RCAHMS NMRS record HY50NW 10 describes this as several stone compatments with a slab-formed rectangular tank just off .
Well worth a visit if you are into decayed structures , 6 out of 10 . Entered the field by climbing over a wooden gate that is difficult owing to the close construction . First sight is a long mound with a standing stone on the left and a circular depression in the centre . Closer to the standing stone is the end of a close packed straight wall that still is exposed for several yards . From afar you can make out a few small stones about the depression , so it comes as a pleasant surprise as one climbs ever so slightly to look down and see this is filled by large slabs even if no clearly discernable structure . The back of the mound survives a bit higher , so it is a disappointment when one goes behind that this appears so nondescript . Here are the two modern structures that are presumably where the second mound used to be .
STEM HOWE
Having been to the top of the knoll on which St.Ninian's Chapel is supposed to be I see no bigger hills behind and so presume that this knoll actually is Stem Howe . Oh , there are stones there but what is most obvious is a large ( formerly standing ? ) stone of a type that leads me to believe that this wasn't the site of the chapel [ this visit I think I may have found a worked stone from said chapel , set into the wall at the bottom of the slight rise to Mine Howe . This 75x30x15 cm stone's face is a round-cornered rectangle incised with two perfect rectangles along the edge , defaced by two relatively modern graffito ] . As I wrote previously this continues round to the right as two more hills , reminiscent parhaps of the Round Howe - Long Howe - Mine Howe continuance . On closer inspection I find these hills peppered with shallow excavations , most of which stop when they hit stone . Behind the rightmost hill is a pair of holed standing stones , presumably formerly used as gateposts though one is now part of a barbedwire fence and the other is at an angle to this and it's packing still survives well . The cemetery ( with the St. Ninian's Chapel former site probably within ) nestles under the hill's/hills shadow like a chick beneath a hen's arching wing .
ANYTHING BUT MINEHOWE March 3rd 2004
Meant to locate Craw Howe and Five Hillock but forgot the map . Remembered the location on the 1:25,000 of the former , past the airport and the first Tankerness Road junction , only I couldn't identify the milestone that provided the bearing - note to always bring up the site on CANMAP rather than going by what is on the readily available O.S. , if I had had the everyday map it would have been no help anyway ! So on I trundled . Fairly certain I saw the Five Hillocks as they cover a larger area than even CANMAP indicates . Also directly on the right-hand side of the Deerness road there are relatively small dips and scoops and scatterings of stones that aren't shown as archaeology despite looking the results of human endeavours , likely subjects for the psychometrist I'd say .
Then as I gave myself my last chance to give up and retrace my steps up on the left came the wooded area at the other Tankerness Road junction . This is the Mine Howe locale . Coming down the junction the community centre is on the right and on the left the the woodland is revealed as a modern plantation . Past the community centre are two rather wide well seperated dykes at least partly drystane-lined . The lower one's left wall seems rather overbuilt , so that I suspect this may be the right edge of the Round Howe broch's remaining ditch on this side . The broch's defences are either side of the road . Looking across to Mine Howe ( it is still closed at this time ) the Long Howe is between there and the broch . A mite crowded even if I could see the three clearly .
Looking to the churchyard I noticed for the first time a tall standing stone in a field behind it . Intrigued , I set off for it along the deeply rutted trackway that goes alongside . Just past the top corner the ground seems confused is as near as I can describe it , sort of bottoming out and then the track sort of shifts slightly to the left . Then you reach where two fields meet and one is higher than the other and there is a deep cut forming the boundary . Shortly the cut takes a sharp dogleg and the standing stone is the other side of the track from this . There are shorter stones behind and either side of this . The track ( inside the field and at an angle to the track I walked ) back from there seemed to align with Breck Farm . It doesn't match up with the Breck site location of HY512066 . However it is likely to line up with the kaleyard from which a structure that had at least one beehive cell was removed . The target could have been a lot closer , because though the remains of St. Ninian's Chapel are supposed by CANMORE to lie beyond the churchyard ( HY501062 in a line with the wall between the burial ground's two halves atop a knoll ) stones are often uncovered from the slight mound in its left half , on line with the pre-dogleg section .
Beyond the remains of the chapel at the traditional placing CANMAP shows the name Stem Howe , but nothing is shown there and I can't even find out what 'stem' means here ( recent geophysics found a 50m by 6m arc between this 'chapel' and the churchyard , amongst numerous other anomalies about it ) . I read an official description that spoke of Mine Howe standing out from the surrounding natural hills . Which when you go there is odd as it the whole area seems a landscaped whole . From Stem Howe far behind the churchyard three hills curve around to the right . Are they all Stem Howe ? From inside the churchyard I could make out a few apparent bits of structure in the two hills nearest the road . Alas I did not have the camera this time and so can only show dark pictures of these from behind as 'Stem Howe' .
Passing Mine Howe I noticed ( again for the first time ! ) a large standing stone HY512062 set into the present end of a hill ( another deep cut end ) that the Breck Farm lane cuts across . This is parallel to the lane and through binoculars I saw a smaller stone to the left but perpendicular . Unfortunately there is a chain across the lane which I thought best not to cross .
I thought this was an isolated feature . Except as I went further along I was surprised to see a magnificent line of standing stones near this forming a fence along the crest of the hill . From the beginning of this to the road the field edge takes a slight dogleg where it crosses a burn . Fewer stones remain clearly here . The main visible section includes two stones parallel to each other with perhaps a six-inch gap ( not a split stone at al ) . The roadside edge is similarly incomplete , but it also includes such a coupling , here next to a 'proper' standing stone . What with the field being bounded by what I shall call 'standing stone fencing' , as opposed to the usual drystane walling , I had a distinct feeling of temenos about this area . Strange .
--- Most Orcadian field boundaries are drystane walls - as far as I can recall the only other area I've seen that has much of these these 'standing stone fences' is Evie . You couldn't really call them stone rows but they aren't quite fences . You do get places where stone slabs form wall lines , however these are fully connected whereas the standing stones always have distinct gaps and any wire always looks distinctly out of place . There are variations . Out in the Tankerness peninsula a fairly long walk along the road there is a 'standing stone fence' on both sides , the stones being staggered either side . On the eroding coastline between Essonquoy and Weethick one is composed of very widely spaced tall stones with two smaller ones in between , most of the land it once lined gone . ---
Going past the next junction at the lane to Muckle Crofty is a tiny copse with a teeny pool at one end . The other side of the road a tall standing stone HY517066 sits in a bare space with a little grass about it . Only when you look across you see another some distance away . If you look across the nearer it is on a beeline across the other . The remains of another 'standing stone fence' I presume .
Meant to locate Craw Howe and Five Hillock but forgot the map . Remembered the location on the 1:25,000 of the former , past the airport and the first Tankerness Road junction , only I couldn't identify the milestone that provided the bearing - note to always bring up the site on CANMAP rather than going by what is on the readily available O.S. , if I had had the everyday map it would have been no help anyway ! So on I trundled . Fairly certain I saw the Five Hillocks as they cover a larger area than even CANMAP indicates . Also directly on the right-hand side of the Deerness road there are relatively small dips and scoops and scatterings of stones that aren't shown as archaeology despite looking the results of human endeavours , likely subjects for the psychometrist I'd say .
Then as I gave myself my last chance to give up and retrace my steps up on the left came the wooded area at the other Tankerness Road junction . This is the Mine Howe locale . Coming down the junction the community centre is on the right and on the left the the woodland is revealed as a modern plantation . Past the community centre are two rather wide well seperated dykes at least partly drystane-lined . The lower one's left wall seems rather overbuilt , so that I suspect this may be the right edge of the Round Howe broch's remaining ditch on this side . The broch's defences are either side of the road . Looking across to Mine Howe ( it is still closed at this time ) the Long Howe is between there and the broch . A mite crowded even if I could see the three clearly .
Looking to the churchyard I noticed for the first time a tall standing stone in a field behind it . Intrigued , I set off for it along the deeply rutted trackway that goes alongside . Just past the top corner the ground seems confused is as near as I can describe it , sort of bottoming out and then the track sort of shifts slightly to the left . Then you reach where two fields meet and one is higher than the other and there is a deep cut forming the boundary . Shortly the cut takes a sharp dogleg and the standing stone is the other side of the track from this . There are shorter stones behind and either side of this . The track ( inside the field and at an angle to the track I walked ) back from there seemed to align with Breck Farm . It doesn't match up with the Breck site location of HY512066 . However it is likely to line up with the kaleyard from which a structure that had at least one beehive cell was removed . The target could have been a lot closer , because though the remains of St. Ninian's Chapel are supposed by CANMORE to lie beyond the churchyard ( HY501062 in a line with the wall between the burial ground's two halves atop a knoll ) stones are often uncovered from the slight mound in its left half , on line with the pre-dogleg section .
Beyond the remains of the chapel at the traditional placing CANMAP shows the name Stem Howe , but nothing is shown there and I can't even find out what 'stem' means here ( recent geophysics found a 50m by 6m arc between this 'chapel' and the churchyard , amongst numerous other anomalies about it ) . I read an official description that spoke of Mine Howe standing out from the surrounding natural hills . Which when you go there is odd as it the whole area seems a landscaped whole . From Stem Howe far behind the churchyard three hills curve around to the right . Are they all Stem Howe ? From inside the churchyard I could make out a few apparent bits of structure in the two hills nearest the road . Alas I did not have the camera this time and so can only show dark pictures of these from behind as 'Stem Howe' .
Passing Mine Howe I noticed ( again for the first time ! ) a large standing stone HY512062 set into the present end of a hill ( another deep cut end ) that the Breck Farm lane cuts across . This is parallel to the lane and through binoculars I saw a smaller stone to the left but perpendicular . Unfortunately there is a chain across the lane which I thought best not to cross .
I thought this was an isolated feature . Except as I went further along I was surprised to see a magnificent line of standing stones near this forming a fence along the crest of the hill . From the beginning of this to the road the field edge takes a slight dogleg where it crosses a burn . Fewer stones remain clearly here . The main visible section includes two stones parallel to each other with perhaps a six-inch gap ( not a split stone at al ) . The roadside edge is similarly incomplete , but it also includes such a coupling , here next to a 'proper' standing stone . What with the field being bounded by what I shall call 'standing stone fencing' , as opposed to the usual drystane walling , I had a distinct feeling of temenos about this area . Strange .
--- Most Orcadian field boundaries are drystane walls - as far as I can recall the only other area I've seen that has much of these these 'standing stone fences' is Evie . You couldn't really call them stone rows but they aren't quite fences . You do get places where stone slabs form wall lines , however these are fully connected whereas the standing stones always have distinct gaps and any wire always looks distinctly out of place . There are variations . Out in the Tankerness peninsula a fairly long walk along the road there is a 'standing stone fence' on both sides , the stones being staggered either side . On the eroding coastline between Essonquoy and Weethick one is composed of very widely spaced tall stones with two smaller ones in between , most of the land it once lined gone . ---
Going past the next junction at the lane to Muckle Crofty is a tiny copse with a teeny pool at one end . The other side of the road a tall standing stone HY517066 sits in a bare space with a little grass about it . Only when you look across you see another some distance away . If you look across the nearer it is on a beeline across the other . The remains of another 'standing stone fence' I presume .
JAN 24 2004 WORLD HERITAGE PLUS
Two objectives today were to sort out the Lochview standing stones and to try and visit the Ring of Bookan . Set off from Kirkwall on the 10.15 bus to reach the Brodgar road junction and caught the 2.30 Stromness bus back . Just over four hours at my "rate of knots" . And if you retrace my steps it is likely you would looksee the Barnhouse and Stones of Stenness sites , spend rather more time at the Ring of Brodgar , and would actually go to the Ring of Bookan . So more like a full day if you were foolhardy !
On the bus you pass on the left Tormiston Mill and going from a path on the road opposite that you reach the imposing hill of Maes Howe , a little further along ( also on the right ) the Barnhouse Stone stands solitary in its own little paddock in a field . Between Maeshowe and Barnhouse you have a glimpse of the Loch of Harray , which was today almost camouflaged white by several dozen swans in contrast to several flocks of geese between here and the other side of the Brodgar road .
On the Brodgar road your travels start . On the right you will see the Stones of Stenness beside the road , with the Barnhouse settlement reached by a path alongside ( to come back you will have to retrace your steps as you can't actually reach the church from here ) . Ahead the Watch Stone stands sentinel on the left just ahead of the Bridge of Brodgar , looming over the road on its little tump . The other side is an unremarked standing stone or somesuch . The Bridge of Brodgar divides the salty Loch of Stenness on the left from the freshwater Loch of Harray on the right . On the former the odd seal or two can often be seen sunning on sumerged rocks . On at least one occasion I saw a family of seals on the small spit of land the other end of the bridge , though it is usually the heron you will find in this area .
Everything from the Bridge of Brodgar up to the region of the stone circle is on the left ( the Loch of Harray shoreline is on the road's right , with a fair smattering of gannets in its 'cliffs' in their time ) .
The two green ?huts you first see are Bridgend . After these is the low hill that is down as Brodgar Farm cairn HY304128 and may be broch remains . You can see the scallop scar of excavation but nothing else - if you follow the path around it that skirts the Loch of Stenness the view is even less distinguished ! After this comes the hillock/rise on which stand the Lochview Standing Stones . Your first view of this pair sets them against the Lochview Cottage to to make them look for all the world like a modern folly in someone's garden . One mission accomplished . Next up is Brodgar Farm itself , and beside Brodgar Cottage on another hillock a pair of old stone gateposts sit in splendid isolation in apparent imitation of the standing stones' situation .
Further along you come to a wide metal-fence bordered track running at a slight angle ( something to do with nature conservation it seems ) and along which you approach the Comet Stone group . This consists of the Comet Stone itself and two stone stumps . These latter have been held to be a cove's remains but to me look the wrong distance and not part of a fitting arc . I wonder if the Comet Stone was there first and then much later the present mound built around it for the twa stones to sit in - you can see how the Comet stands in its own seperate circular depression . Certainly the geophysic clutter around the group represents more than the news report of an extra stone . above the group are several low-lying tumuli . The Ring of Brodgar is before you with a big knowe above it .
The 'proper' way to approach the Ring of Brodgar stone circle rather than havering off to the Comet Stone is to continue along the Brodgar road , passing two more knowes on the right , and going through the Historic Scotland entrance on the left . No bikes are allowed and you are meant to keep to the grass track , though today this was awash with water and the new turf hadn't worked in yet . I decided to look for markings I had finally found on my previous visit . Not the runes etc but cup marks . Found them on the front of one of the standing stones below the Comet Stone track 'entrance' , a stone that looks like a hatchet face . Possibly natural but perfectly circular with a hint of the tool created them . And at the left side I now saw a small crevice whose outline brought to mind a leaf .
Now I went in search of my second objective and further up the road I thought I saw it up on a ridge . Took ages to try and match what the map depicted with the landscape around me , back and forth back and forth , time and again . Eventually I wrongly concluded that I had fulfilled my second mission ( before visiting Scottish sites I urge you go to the RCAHMS website and register with CANMORE , for its CANMAP is the right tool for complete certainty of identification ) . After my first sighting what next took my interest was a scatter of stones in the corner of a roadside field . Its next corner had the barred metal gate from which a broad track went up to my objective , which I now know to be Bookan Chambered Cairn . A strange track that I have never seen the like of before - stones beneath and cleared away to the sides . At the cairn you can just make out a surrounding ditch . I wasn't entirely sure at first that the cairn was not the result of field clearances . Then as I came closer I saw the excavation in the middle . Before I left I took one last look from the top and saw the top of a radial slab . A closer look and I thought to remove a piece of black bag but when it would not shift I knew that this was evidence that the 2002 dig was not the end .To the left of the mound there is all sorts going on ; ponds , dumps , tumuli . Most of this lies in an odd fenced area . Hereabouts was muddy and squelchy underfoot ( and you need to be aware that this could be its usual condition ) so I didn't do too much investigating ! The tumuli listed on CANMORE would be on the downhill side , whether within or withot this fencing I do not know .
Back down from the ridge I continued up the hill to Buckan Farm . For a short distance to the right I could make out afar the Broch of Burrian . Looking to my left I noticed a big hillock a little away and in its central emptiness a standing slab and something else . After the fact I know this to be the henge and/or chambered tomb the Ring of Bookan . Being ignorant of this I put it aside for another time as I only had half a film left and reserved this for the Stackrue broch remnant as I decided to carry on around to the Stromness road the other side of the Loch of Stenness .
Easy to miss is the small Lyking signpost downhill on the right . This byroad goes around the top of the Loch of Stenness . You have no doubt come across roads that make way for ancient sites , well this one curves strongly round the Lyking Farm . CANMORE shows only a tentative account of a burial mound to the north yet it is the only explanation for why the road does not simply cut across the top of the farm ! Here is a concentration of various forms of standing stone worthy of your attention , though all unremarked . One short pillar has an obtuse-angled corner that could be the result of artifice .
On the left away from the farm one comes upon a pair of old gateposts immediately parallel to the road . The left post is a standing stone set in stone packing , a larger version of some settings by Lyking Farm . Of the right hand post only the stone packing remains in place but with a large wooden section across the 'gateway' that may have been in there last . A little curious it seems to me .
Then on the right Stackrue Broch comes into view . First impression is that this stands a little higher than Oxtro but the stones are smaller . Just the usual "remnants of broch" then . Nearer and I see the other end and am surprised by the size of the blocks in the wall here and how bright they look . This is the actual broch wall standing several courses tall . Looking back it is obvious I am seeing structures from at least two periods . Only now am I struck by what should have struck me from the start , a large deep ditch running around the site . Somewhere about the middle of the building I think I see a void behind some slabs . The 'broch' end in the ditch against the bank are several large slabs of stone and nearer the road a few what look like standing stones . [ On the Monday I find out the other side of the road is a subterranean passage and a little distance away and closer to the loch lie , or lay , the turf footings of a chapel and a burial ground ] .
Having alas finished off my film too early ( oh I forgot to mention the heavy showers that had passed over me at Stackrue but failed to dampen my spirits ) I carried on . In the loch there were two islets , a very small one on which were some no doubt natural slabs and a larger one with the remains of some structure apparent . Only one on the map and both unremarked . A little along from them is Veron Point HY257150 which I had hopes of . Unfortunately even with binoculars I saw only a reed bed with the scant remains of a wooden fence [ On the Monday I find I was looking at two sites , not only a chapel with burial ground but also a possible burial mound ! ] . The fields above me held wildfowl again , several swans in one and a large flock of geese in the next along . The geese almost immediately flew off but the swans despite being closer were unpertuturbed . That's centuries of royal protection in inaction !
Coming up to the road end there is a green hill behind a cottage which is the Voy Burnt Mound HY236150 . To the left of the junction I head in towards Stromness . This end of the road has no signpost . It is a common failing in Orkney that minor roads are only marked at one end . The last time I walked up from Stromness I had passed by here and had presumed the Lyking Road to be simply a quality farm road that ended on Linga Fjold hill . A little further up is a comparatively huge sign for the oncoming parting of Skaill and Birsay roads .
From the junction I looked across to Redland Farm and saw near the shore both a big jumble of large stones and a green mound of rectangular appearance . In between here and the beginning of the farm road the mound disappears from view for a while . The jumble is I think the Redland Burnt Mound HY267138 , and the mound is the Knowe of Redland HY267139 also known as Arion Broch ( after the area ) .
Soon after I knew I would be in plenty of time to catch the bus . But when offered a lift to Stenness village I knew it would be churlish to refuse . Then I walked on past Tormiston Mill until the bus came by . Our buses stop anywhere for you and this is a great help if you are out in the wilds and have had enough !!
Two objectives today were to sort out the Lochview standing stones and to try and visit the Ring of Bookan . Set off from Kirkwall on the 10.15 bus to reach the Brodgar road junction and caught the 2.30 Stromness bus back . Just over four hours at my "rate of knots" . And if you retrace my steps it is likely you would looksee the Barnhouse and Stones of Stenness sites , spend rather more time at the Ring of Brodgar , and would actually go to the Ring of Bookan . So more like a full day if you were foolhardy !
On the bus you pass on the left Tormiston Mill and going from a path on the road opposite that you reach the imposing hill of Maes Howe , a little further along ( also on the right ) the Barnhouse Stone stands solitary in its own little paddock in a field . Between Maeshowe and Barnhouse you have a glimpse of the Loch of Harray , which was today almost camouflaged white by several dozen swans in contrast to several flocks of geese between here and the other side of the Brodgar road .
On the Brodgar road your travels start . On the right you will see the Stones of Stenness beside the road , with the Barnhouse settlement reached by a path alongside ( to come back you will have to retrace your steps as you can't actually reach the church from here ) . Ahead the Watch Stone stands sentinel on the left just ahead of the Bridge of Brodgar , looming over the road on its little tump . The other side is an unremarked standing stone or somesuch . The Bridge of Brodgar divides the salty Loch of Stenness on the left from the freshwater Loch of Harray on the right . On the former the odd seal or two can often be seen sunning on sumerged rocks . On at least one occasion I saw a family of seals on the small spit of land the other end of the bridge , though it is usually the heron you will find in this area .
Everything from the Bridge of Brodgar up to the region of the stone circle is on the left ( the Loch of Harray shoreline is on the road's right , with a fair smattering of gannets in its 'cliffs' in their time ) .
The two green ?huts you first see are Bridgend . After these is the low hill that is down as Brodgar Farm cairn HY304128 and may be broch remains . You can see the scallop scar of excavation but nothing else - if you follow the path around it that skirts the Loch of Stenness the view is even less distinguished ! After this comes the hillock/rise on which stand the Lochview Standing Stones . Your first view of this pair sets them against the Lochview Cottage to to make them look for all the world like a modern folly in someone's garden . One mission accomplished . Next up is Brodgar Farm itself , and beside Brodgar Cottage on another hillock a pair of old stone gateposts sit in splendid isolation in apparent imitation of the standing stones' situation .
Further along you come to a wide metal-fence bordered track running at a slight angle ( something to do with nature conservation it seems ) and along which you approach the Comet Stone group . This consists of the Comet Stone itself and two stone stumps . These latter have been held to be a cove's remains but to me look the wrong distance and not part of a fitting arc . I wonder if the Comet Stone was there first and then much later the present mound built around it for the twa stones to sit in - you can see how the Comet stands in its own seperate circular depression . Certainly the geophysic clutter around the group represents more than the news report of an extra stone . above the group are several low-lying tumuli . The Ring of Brodgar is before you with a big knowe above it .
The 'proper' way to approach the Ring of Brodgar stone circle rather than havering off to the Comet Stone is to continue along the Brodgar road , passing two more knowes on the right , and going through the Historic Scotland entrance on the left . No bikes are allowed and you are meant to keep to the grass track , though today this was awash with water and the new turf hadn't worked in yet . I decided to look for markings I had finally found on my previous visit . Not the runes etc but cup marks . Found them on the front of one of the standing stones below the Comet Stone track 'entrance' , a stone that looks like a hatchet face . Possibly natural but perfectly circular with a hint of the tool created them . And at the left side I now saw a small crevice whose outline brought to mind a leaf .
Now I went in search of my second objective and further up the road I thought I saw it up on a ridge . Took ages to try and match what the map depicted with the landscape around me , back and forth back and forth , time and again . Eventually I wrongly concluded that I had fulfilled my second mission ( before visiting Scottish sites I urge you go to the RCAHMS website and register with CANMORE , for its CANMAP is the right tool for complete certainty of identification ) . After my first sighting what next took my interest was a scatter of stones in the corner of a roadside field . Its next corner had the barred metal gate from which a broad track went up to my objective , which I now know to be Bookan Chambered Cairn . A strange track that I have never seen the like of before - stones beneath and cleared away to the sides . At the cairn you can just make out a surrounding ditch . I wasn't entirely sure at first that the cairn was not the result of field clearances . Then as I came closer I saw the excavation in the middle . Before I left I took one last look from the top and saw the top of a radial slab . A closer look and I thought to remove a piece of black bag but when it would not shift I knew that this was evidence that the 2002 dig was not the end .To the left of the mound there is all sorts going on ; ponds , dumps , tumuli . Most of this lies in an odd fenced area . Hereabouts was muddy and squelchy underfoot ( and you need to be aware that this could be its usual condition ) so I didn't do too much investigating ! The tumuli listed on CANMORE would be on the downhill side , whether within or withot this fencing I do not know .
Back down from the ridge I continued up the hill to Buckan Farm . For a short distance to the right I could make out afar the Broch of Burrian . Looking to my left I noticed a big hillock a little away and in its central emptiness a standing slab and something else . After the fact I know this to be the henge and/or chambered tomb the Ring of Bookan . Being ignorant of this I put it aside for another time as I only had half a film left and reserved this for the Stackrue broch remnant as I decided to carry on around to the Stromness road the other side of the Loch of Stenness .
Easy to miss is the small Lyking signpost downhill on the right . This byroad goes around the top of the Loch of Stenness . You have no doubt come across roads that make way for ancient sites , well this one curves strongly round the Lyking Farm . CANMORE shows only a tentative account of a burial mound to the north yet it is the only explanation for why the road does not simply cut across the top of the farm ! Here is a concentration of various forms of standing stone worthy of your attention , though all unremarked . One short pillar has an obtuse-angled corner that could be the result of artifice .
On the left away from the farm one comes upon a pair of old gateposts immediately parallel to the road . The left post is a standing stone set in stone packing , a larger version of some settings by Lyking Farm . Of the right hand post only the stone packing remains in place but with a large wooden section across the 'gateway' that may have been in there last . A little curious it seems to me .
Then on the right Stackrue Broch comes into view . First impression is that this stands a little higher than Oxtro but the stones are smaller . Just the usual "remnants of broch" then . Nearer and I see the other end and am surprised by the size of the blocks in the wall here and how bright they look . This is the actual broch wall standing several courses tall . Looking back it is obvious I am seeing structures from at least two periods . Only now am I struck by what should have struck me from the start , a large deep ditch running around the site . Somewhere about the middle of the building I think I see a void behind some slabs . The 'broch' end in the ditch against the bank are several large slabs of stone and nearer the road a few what look like standing stones . [ On the Monday I find out the other side of the road is a subterranean passage and a little distance away and closer to the loch lie , or lay , the turf footings of a chapel and a burial ground ] .
Having alas finished off my film too early ( oh I forgot to mention the heavy showers that had passed over me at Stackrue but failed to dampen my spirits ) I carried on . In the loch there were two islets , a very small one on which were some no doubt natural slabs and a larger one with the remains of some structure apparent . Only one on the map and both unremarked . A little along from them is Veron Point HY257150 which I had hopes of . Unfortunately even with binoculars I saw only a reed bed with the scant remains of a wooden fence [ On the Monday I find I was looking at two sites , not only a chapel with burial ground but also a possible burial mound ! ] . The fields above me held wildfowl again , several swans in one and a large flock of geese in the next along . The geese almost immediately flew off but the swans despite being closer were unpertuturbed . That's centuries of royal protection in inaction !
Coming up to the road end there is a green hill behind a cottage which is the Voy Burnt Mound HY236150 . To the left of the junction I head in towards Stromness . This end of the road has no signpost . It is a common failing in Orkney that minor roads are only marked at one end . The last time I walked up from Stromness I had passed by here and had presumed the Lyking Road to be simply a quality farm road that ended on Linga Fjold hill . A little further up is a comparatively huge sign for the oncoming parting of Skaill and Birsay roads .
From the junction I looked across to Redland Farm and saw near the shore both a big jumble of large stones and a green mound of rectangular appearance . In between here and the beginning of the farm road the mound disappears from view for a while . The jumble is I think the Redland Burnt Mound HY267138 , and the mound is the Knowe of Redland HY267139 also known as Arion Broch ( after the area ) .
Soon after I knew I would be in plenty of time to catch the bus . But when offered a lift to Stenness village I knew it would be churlish to refuse . Then I walked on past Tormiston Mill until the bus came by . Our buses stop anywhere for you and this is a great help if you are out in the wilds and have had enough !!
BROCH MY WORLD
I seem to associate these tower remains with the coast , and so assume that Stackrue Lyking at the top of the Loch of Stenness dates from before the Brig o'Waithe crossed this body of water at the Bay of Ireland ( and the same argument would go for the Knowe of Redland and Biggings Broch ) .The Lochview Cairn is well-placed at the Bridge of Brodgar between the Stenness and Harray lochs , The Howe and Cummi Howe [HY282104 ]covered either side where the Bay Of Ireland narrows ahead of the Brig o'Waithe . There was a broch at the Bu of Gairston [HY272097] further down the Stromness side of the Bay Of Ireland but it seems a little strange that there isn't even the suggestion of one over in Stromness itself .
There are no signs of a broch over at Kirkwall either , though the presence of two souterrains on Hatston Brae would make that a likely spot . Over at Scapa Bay was the Broch of Lingro alongside the distillery ( pre-emptively bulldozed in 1980 though there are still mounds suggestive of settlement between there and the area beside the stream on the other side of the Orphir road ) . Roughly halfway between Kirkwall and Finstown there is one over by Ingashowe ( a name showing just how far Inga's dominion lay - Inganess Bay being the other side of Kirkwall ) [HY390128] . Of the three headlands beyond Kirkwall it is possible that there was another at the Head of Holland . Unfortunately this is a very difficult site to interpret , much of which is due to extensive medieval , and perhaps earlier , quarrying ( when I first moved to Kirkwall this was pointed out to me as the cathedral quarry even though most of the better stone came outwith Mainland Orkney , and it even now is used for restorations ) . On the outskirts of town down below Berstane House are the remains of another broch [HY475100] at the Taing of Berstane ( the Brough on the map is not this ) . Did try to find it once but lucked out .
The next broch that I know of locally is near the bottom end of the Loch of Tankerness . Despite having been this way several times I have yet to visit the Howie of the Manse [HY514090] which if a big broch could have overlooked Mill Sand . There doesn't appear to be anything covering entry to Deer Sound either in Tankerness or Deerness , though I see there is Eves Howe [HY549061] by Eves Loch not that far inside that could have 'caught' persons rounding Mirkady Point and Point of Od . There is meant to be a broch at Mine Howe of which I am doubtful it could have watched the coast directly owing to Muckle Crofty hill intervening . Just past Toab lies Campston Broch . Further along yet is Dingieshowe Broch , having on one side of it the shelter of St.Peter's Pool and directly overlooking Taracliff Bay , over to Copinsay and various holms ( islets basically ) in the sea close by .
Going across Mainland to St.Mary's Bay one finds ( but I haven't yet ! ) a broch at the top of the Loch of Ayre [HY470014] just as you come down into the village of St.Mary's . This has a view of the Southern Isles .
Of course I mustn't leave out the Broch of Gurness area where several brochs look as if they 'face off to' Rousay , including one much overlain by later features down at Tingwall where you catch the ferry to Rousay . And to complete my personal list there is Oxtro Broch up in Birsay from which is seen both the Bay of Birsay and the top end of the Loch of Boardhouse .
Were Orcadian brochs as close together around the rest of the Orkney Mainland coast as they are in the stretch of coastline opposite Rousay , is my coastal distribution an accident of island topography or what sites I have reached . Was there a fairly regular spacing or were some covering larger areas . These are the original questions behind my weblog reduced to a mere footnote , so pixie-led and pixellated have I been .
I seem to associate these tower remains with the coast , and so assume that Stackrue Lyking at the top of the Loch of Stenness dates from before the Brig o'Waithe crossed this body of water at the Bay of Ireland ( and the same argument would go for the Knowe of Redland and Biggings Broch ) .The Lochview Cairn is well-placed at the Bridge of Brodgar between the Stenness and Harray lochs , The Howe and Cummi Howe [HY282104 ]covered either side where the Bay Of Ireland narrows ahead of the Brig o'Waithe . There was a broch at the Bu of Gairston [HY272097] further down the Stromness side of the Bay Of Ireland but it seems a little strange that there isn't even the suggestion of one over in Stromness itself .
There are no signs of a broch over at Kirkwall either , though the presence of two souterrains on Hatston Brae would make that a likely spot . Over at Scapa Bay was the Broch of Lingro alongside the distillery ( pre-emptively bulldozed in 1980 though there are still mounds suggestive of settlement between there and the area beside the stream on the other side of the Orphir road ) . Roughly halfway between Kirkwall and Finstown there is one over by Ingashowe ( a name showing just how far Inga's dominion lay - Inganess Bay being the other side of Kirkwall ) [HY390128] . Of the three headlands beyond Kirkwall it is possible that there was another at the Head of Holland . Unfortunately this is a very difficult site to interpret , much of which is due to extensive medieval , and perhaps earlier , quarrying ( when I first moved to Kirkwall this was pointed out to me as the cathedral quarry even though most of the better stone came outwith Mainland Orkney , and it even now is used for restorations ) . On the outskirts of town down below Berstane House are the remains of another broch [HY475100] at the Taing of Berstane ( the Brough on the map is not this ) . Did try to find it once but lucked out .
The next broch that I know of locally is near the bottom end of the Loch of Tankerness . Despite having been this way several times I have yet to visit the Howie of the Manse [HY514090] which if a big broch could have overlooked Mill Sand . There doesn't appear to be anything covering entry to Deer Sound either in Tankerness or Deerness , though I see there is Eves Howe [HY549061] by Eves Loch not that far inside that could have 'caught' persons rounding Mirkady Point and Point of Od . There is meant to be a broch at Mine Howe of which I am doubtful it could have watched the coast directly owing to Muckle Crofty hill intervening . Just past Toab lies Campston Broch . Further along yet is Dingieshowe Broch , having on one side of it the shelter of St.Peter's Pool and directly overlooking Taracliff Bay , over to Copinsay and various holms ( islets basically ) in the sea close by .
Going across Mainland to St.Mary's Bay one finds ( but I haven't yet ! ) a broch at the top of the Loch of Ayre [HY470014] just as you come down into the village of St.Mary's . This has a view of the Southern Isles .
Of course I mustn't leave out the Broch of Gurness area where several brochs look as if they 'face off to' Rousay , including one much overlain by later features down at Tingwall where you catch the ferry to Rousay . And to complete my personal list there is Oxtro Broch up in Birsay from which is seen both the Bay of Birsay and the top end of the Loch of Boardhouse .
Were Orcadian brochs as close together around the rest of the Orkney Mainland coast as they are in the stretch of coastline opposite Rousay , is my coastal distribution an accident of island topography or what sites I have reached . Was there a fairly regular spacing or were some covering larger areas . These are the original questions behind my weblog reduced to a mere footnote , so pixie-led and pixellated have I been .
BRIDGING
The bridges of Orkney are rather better represented on CANMAP as far as I can tell but only as far as they are pieces of 17th or 18th century engineering . I feel that perhaps they fall between the two stools of archaeology and architecture . And even though it goes down to 1:10,000 scale I haven't come across a single bridge on my travels marked yet , however large they may have been in Orcadian terms . Surely they are every bit as important as tracks or field boundaries .
It is only this last year that I became sort of obsessed with looking at bridges . Most aren't that obvious , only revealing themselves when you look over the side of the road or track . The smaller ones are my preference and the bridges that distress me are those 'repaired' with chunks of concrete or having had large plastic pipes stuffed into them . Other than the modern accretions how do you date them , has anyone done a study of Orcadian bridges ( which reminds me that I have often thought it would make a nice project for someone to survey the stone walls of Kirkwall , map them out and make a stab at dating them - strange that in towns elsewhere in Britain every piece of old stone wall is marked and treasured ) .
Some of the ones I have seen in recent weeks are obviously very old water crossings because the stone pavements under or alongside them must at one time have been fords ( I wonder where the ford of Wideford Hill was , for I presume it is no more ? ) . Some are obviously the result of two periods of building . The second stage probably came about when the modern roads were being built and the bridges had to be further across to accomodate these ( and often come higher up ) , for one side is obviously older than the other and I presume the original other half is buried beneath ( which prompts another digression . Look at some of the smaller farm buildings and you will see a line of thin stones running across a few courses below the point where the roof springs from , and my guess is that this is where an older turfed roof has been removed and the slate roof required a different kind of footing )
Take a Tingwall bus to the Lyde road and strike across to the hills . There is a road at the bottom of the hill that runs under the shadow of the hills all the way back to Finstown . Not a bad walk , a couple of hours say .And so many varieties of bridge in the first half . A few fall away steeply . Some bridges are only to let the water through - there is the cutest little one in front of a cottage , at right angles to the road in order to carry the end of a wall it seems .
This reminds me of another type of bridge you can see elsewhere in Orkney , now presenting an ornamental appearance but I think originally a simple ?clapper bridge . What you see now is a cottage the other side of a stream from the road and across the stream two or three areas of turf looking like garden overflow but really unwalled bridges . Often this type is very English-looking to my eyes , though they are not .
If you fancy a little picnic my suggestion would be Davies Brig that lies roughly halfway between Kirkwall and Finstown . Actually there are two bridges here , one as it stands now the result of an EEC development grant , and a small wooded area . There is a parking area for lorry drivers to take time out but it is really picturesque anyway .
A few weeks back I walked the road that runs past Swannay Farm in Harray . I was surprised not to find it listed on CANMAP as it is a lovely example of a water-management system to my eyes , intricate but understated . Going past by vehicle you will see nothing . Get out and stretch those legs . None of the visible parts are really built to carry people , only water . A complicated system of stone-lined channels including an area under the corner of a wall where the stream forks into two channels . For some reason a large but slim slab of stone has been placed across the main stream stood up on its longer edge . Most curious .I assume the holes in the walls thereabouts are to drain the snows .
The bridges of Orkney are rather better represented on CANMAP as far as I can tell but only as far as they are pieces of 17th or 18th century engineering . I feel that perhaps they fall between the two stools of archaeology and architecture . And even though it goes down to 1:10,000 scale I haven't come across a single bridge on my travels marked yet , however large they may have been in Orcadian terms . Surely they are every bit as important as tracks or field boundaries .
It is only this last year that I became sort of obsessed with looking at bridges . Most aren't that obvious , only revealing themselves when you look over the side of the road or track . The smaller ones are my preference and the bridges that distress me are those 'repaired' with chunks of concrete or having had large plastic pipes stuffed into them . Other than the modern accretions how do you date them , has anyone done a study of Orcadian bridges ( which reminds me that I have often thought it would make a nice project for someone to survey the stone walls of Kirkwall , map them out and make a stab at dating them - strange that in towns elsewhere in Britain every piece of old stone wall is marked and treasured ) .
Some of the ones I have seen in recent weeks are obviously very old water crossings because the stone pavements under or alongside them must at one time have been fords ( I wonder where the ford of Wideford Hill was , for I presume it is no more ? ) . Some are obviously the result of two periods of building . The second stage probably came about when the modern roads were being built and the bridges had to be further across to accomodate these ( and often come higher up ) , for one side is obviously older than the other and I presume the original other half is buried beneath ( which prompts another digression . Look at some of the smaller farm buildings and you will see a line of thin stones running across a few courses below the point where the roof springs from , and my guess is that this is where an older turfed roof has been removed and the slate roof required a different kind of footing )
Take a Tingwall bus to the Lyde road and strike across to the hills . There is a road at the bottom of the hill that runs under the shadow of the hills all the way back to Finstown . Not a bad walk , a couple of hours say .And so many varieties of bridge in the first half . A few fall away steeply . Some bridges are only to let the water through - there is the cutest little one in front of a cottage , at right angles to the road in order to carry the end of a wall it seems .
This reminds me of another type of bridge you can see elsewhere in Orkney , now presenting an ornamental appearance but I think originally a simple ?clapper bridge . What you see now is a cottage the other side of a stream from the road and across the stream two or three areas of turf looking like garden overflow but really unwalled bridges . Often this type is very English-looking to my eyes , though they are not .
If you fancy a little picnic my suggestion would be Davies Brig that lies roughly halfway between Kirkwall and Finstown . Actually there are two bridges here , one as it stands now the result of an EEC development grant , and a small wooded area . There is a parking area for lorry drivers to take time out but it is really picturesque anyway .
A few weeks back I walked the road that runs past Swannay Farm in Harray . I was surprised not to find it listed on CANMAP as it is a lovely example of a water-management system to my eyes , intricate but understated . Going past by vehicle you will see nothing . Get out and stretch those legs . None of the visible parts are really built to carry people , only water . A complicated system of stone-lined channels including an area under the corner of a wall where the stream forks into two channels . For some reason a large but slim slab of stone has been placed across the main stream stood up on its longer edge . Most curious .I assume the holes in the walls thereabouts are to drain the snows .
OVERLOOKING
Go to the side of Wideford Hill , over to the Wideford Hill Cairn and enjoy the large sweep of the valley down to Finstown and across all the way to Evie and beyond . Go to Cuween Hill , way up to Cuween Hill Cairn and look back across the valley to Wideford Hill . Go the other side of the Finstown pass , up to Binscarth House and around to beneath the Howe Harper Cairn and see right across to Hoy in the distance . Where do you look back to Finstown from ? Buckan that oversees the Brodgar peninsula , maybe the southern range of hills that look at the road from Stenness on , perhaps as far away as Hoy itself ? Of course this is meaningless in an archaeological context , there are so many other cairns between Kirkwall and Stromness I haven't tried to use , simply using for my purpose three having chance prominence . But I attribute meaning to those three points ( and now find that they are indeed connected ) . And because I have seen a pair looking at each other I search for a fourth term to complete the extrapolated second pair . Could be that there are such pairings all over the place but that the specific pairings changed over time . But at least archaeologists do admit the dwellings of the dead are placed on hillsides to keep a watch on the affairs of the living .
Go to the side of Wideford Hill , over to the Wideford Hill Cairn and enjoy the large sweep of the valley down to Finstown and across all the way to Evie and beyond . Go to Cuween Hill , way up to Cuween Hill Cairn and look back across the valley to Wideford Hill . Go the other side of the Finstown pass , up to Binscarth House and around to beneath the Howe Harper Cairn and see right across to Hoy in the distance . Where do you look back to Finstown from ? Buckan that oversees the Brodgar peninsula , maybe the southern range of hills that look at the road from Stenness on , perhaps as far away as Hoy itself ? Of course this is meaningless in an archaeological context , there are so many other cairns between Kirkwall and Stromness I haven't tried to use , simply using for my purpose three having chance prominence . But I attribute meaning to those three points ( and now find that they are indeed connected ) . And because I have seen a pair looking at each other I search for a fourth term to complete the extrapolated second pair . Could be that there are such pairings all over the place but that the specific pairings changed over time . But at least archaeologists do admit the dwellings of the dead are placed on hillsides to keep a watch on the affairs of the living .
SACRED LANDSCAPES
Why should the Brodgar peninsula be the only such complex on Orkney ? On a less overpowering scale perhaps the Dingieshowe area should be looked at ( no stone circles I admit ) . An elongated strip of land between two stretches of water that looks across to several islands and has a hill above it . And much better islands for sacred rites ( if someone is seeking another Mine Howe CANMORE in discussing a Christian site on one of these includes the throwaway line that nearby used to be a well with steps going down inside , and this could bear looking into even at this late date ) . The Thing itself is of impressive size still . I wonder if the extensive dunes are relatively recent , otherwise why build a broch on such a size , or much older in which case one wonders what might still lie beneath . What kind of instrument survey could peer beneath sand dunes ?
The trolls were supposed to have their thing at Dingieshowe on All Hallow's Eve , whereas the Brodgar complex seems to be solstice-based .
Why should the Brodgar peninsula be the only such complex on Orkney ? On a less overpowering scale perhaps the Dingieshowe area should be looked at ( no stone circles I admit ) . An elongated strip of land between two stretches of water that looks across to several islands and has a hill above it . And much better islands for sacred rites ( if someone is seeking another Mine Howe CANMORE in discussing a Christian site on one of these includes the throwaway line that nearby used to be a well with steps going down inside , and this could bear looking into even at this late date ) . The Thing itself is of impressive size still . I wonder if the extensive dunes are relatively recent , otherwise why build a broch on such a size , or much older in which case one wonders what might still lie beneath . What kind of instrument survey could peer beneath sand dunes ?
The trolls were supposed to have their thing at Dingieshowe on All Hallow's Eve , whereas the Brodgar complex seems to be solstice-based .
SPACE , + -
All the years that I have been in Orkney of all the major sites to look at I had never been to the Knowe of Onston , despite its lying alongside the main road just short of the Brig o'Waithe . Somehow it looked insignificant and also I was put off by the thought of crawling through some damp passage . Then I saw a photo of the inside on a website and was surprised by the light and space . So one weekend two weeks later I finally paid homage to the Unstan Tomb , finding it to be just as the photo showed . Such a contrast to the Cuween Hill Cairn : there really was a short crawl , here more a shambling crouch , there the main compartment only fairly visible with a lantern , here apart (alas) for the side-chamber it was as if you were out in the open . The place is refreshing to look at . A couple visiting at the time were impressed by the use of red sandstone slabs.
Also travelled the length of the road in Orphir upon which lie the Bu and the Round Church . Going up from the Hall of Gyre (alias Orphir House) at the first corner I looked back to the left of Gyre and saw a couple of fields away a large mound of apparently crescentic shape that wasn't shown on my map (and nothing later showing on CANMAP) . Perhaps , big as it was ,it was only a modern spoilheap . But it lies in splendid isolation . Going round another corner also on the right the other side of the wall was what looked like a quarry except it looks more as if a large scoop of earth had been taken by some giant's hand . It may be fanciful of me to see a connection between mound and scoop .
Back to another journey , only along what I call the 50-50 road but is actually the Germiston Road to Orphir . Shortly after it leaves the main road (on the other side you look across to Lower Hobbister) there is a mound on the left that does not appear on the archaeological map even though there are traces of excavation trenches . A stream lies a short distance fom its left-side and is stone-lined . You can imagine that the mound's creators are responsible for this too only the large blocks seem more like bedrock . Wholly natural or adapted to form some outer ditch ? Whatever it really is I reccomend it to anyone that likes the revealed interplay between rock and water
All the years that I have been in Orkney of all the major sites to look at I had never been to the Knowe of Onston , despite its lying alongside the main road just short of the Brig o'Waithe . Somehow it looked insignificant and also I was put off by the thought of crawling through some damp passage . Then I saw a photo of the inside on a website and was surprised by the light and space . So one weekend two weeks later I finally paid homage to the Unstan Tomb , finding it to be just as the photo showed . Such a contrast to the Cuween Hill Cairn : there really was a short crawl , here more a shambling crouch , there the main compartment only fairly visible with a lantern , here apart (alas) for the side-chamber it was as if you were out in the open . The place is refreshing to look at . A couple visiting at the time were impressed by the use of red sandstone slabs.
Also travelled the length of the road in Orphir upon which lie the Bu and the Round Church . Going up from the Hall of Gyre (alias Orphir House) at the first corner I looked back to the left of Gyre and saw a couple of fields away a large mound of apparently crescentic shape that wasn't shown on my map (and nothing later showing on CANMAP) . Perhaps , big as it was ,it was only a modern spoilheap . But it lies in splendid isolation . Going round another corner also on the right the other side of the wall was what looked like a quarry except it looks more as if a large scoop of earth had been taken by some giant's hand . It may be fanciful of me to see a connection between mound and scoop .
Back to another journey , only along what I call the 50-50 road but is actually the Germiston Road to Orphir . Shortly after it leaves the main road (on the other side you look across to Lower Hobbister) there is a mound on the left that does not appear on the archaeological map even though there are traces of excavation trenches . A stream lies a short distance fom its left-side and is stone-lined . You can imagine that the mound's creators are responsible for this too only the large blocks seem more like bedrock . Wholly natural or adapted to form some outer ditch ? Whatever it really is I reccomend it to anyone that likes the revealed interplay between rock and water
