Excavation

Date 27 April 2009 - 22 May 2009

Event ID 608568

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/608568

HY 5641 2884 Following a small-scale tapestry excavation (DES 2008, 129) which identified five main phases of medieval / post-medieval activity in the eroding coastal section, a larger scale excavation of features immediately behind the section was undertaken from 27 April–22 May 2009.

The excavation consisted of a 4 x 4m trench with six extension slots (placed off the main trench). It was possible to relate features in the trench to one of the main portions of walling previously recorded in the section. However, due to the instability of the coastal section an area of turf was left in place between the section and the trench edge, which made it difficult to relate the trench features directly to some of the

structural elements recorded in 2008.

The excavation revealed a series of walls forming a room or building, the S end of which has been lost to the sea. The structure was oriented cN–S, with an entranceway in the SE portion of the trench and measured 3.5m E–W by 5m N–S. The walls were clay-bonded with some traces of lime render on the exterior wall face. The building was floored with beautifully laid flagstones and a raised area or platform, up to 1m wide, extended around the N and W sides of the building. The platform on the N may represent a portion of an earlier structure that was incorporated into this building. This follows the sequence of construction seen in the coastal section, with later phase buildings being built over and integrating earlier structural elements.

A subsequent deposit of large stone, including a carved architectural fragment, was laid across the interior, lying against and over the western platform and abutting the threshold slab in the entranceway. This surface may have been introduced to level up a floor surface of rough flags. A thick, loose homogenous layer, rich in organics, and containing mortar fragments, roofing slates, several sherds of green glaze pottery and a fine bone comb, overlay the rough paving. This deposit covered almost the entire interior of the structure and is likely to represent material dumped in from elsewhere rather than an accrued occupation layer. The structure was then infilled through a combination of deliberate action and collapse and deterioration of the surrounding walls. Among these infill layers was an intervening rough clay surface visible against the northern wall, which probably represents another re-use of the building. The recovery of substantial architectural fragments, out of character with this building’s masonry, support the local tradition and documentary sources indicating the presence of a relatively high status building in this area.

This structure is clearly just one component of a much broader farmstead/settlement complex, the occupation

and use of which spanned a period of at least 200 years, roughly from the 17th to 19th centuries. The earlier structures glimpsed in this year’s work and visible in the coastal section may suggest that settlement and activity at Stackelbrae was rooted in the medieval or possibly earlier periods.

Archive: RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Historic Scotland, Orkney Islands Council and ORCA

Amanda Brend – ORCA