Ground Survey

Date May 2006

Event ID 551019

Category Recording

Type Ground Survey

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/551019

HY 440 260 A desk-based assessment and landscape survey of the island of Wyre were undertaken during May 2006. A total of 91 sites were identified. These ranged from post-medieval standing buildings to possible prehistoric funerary monuments and settlements. During the course of the survey, several sites were identified in a recently ploughed field in the W of the island (HY 437 259). A brief scan of this field while recording led to the discovery of several artefacts in the ploughsoil, including several stone macehead fragments and two soft stone axes, in addition to coarse stone tools and pottery.

The identification of these artefacts as Neolithic led to additional funding and a programme of fieldwalking and geophysical (gradiometry) survey. Over 700 artefacts were subsequently recovered from the ploughsoil in this field, and both the distribution of these finds and the results of the geophysical survey indicate significant prehistoric activity. These initial results appear to suggest the presence of at least one Neolithic domestic structure, but the additional presence of artefacts usually associated with ritual sites suggests wide-ranging and complex prehistoric settlement in this part of the island.

Report lodged with Orkney SMR and NMRS.

Sponsor: Orkney Islands Council, the Flaws Family, Orkney Archaeological Trust and Orkney College Sandwick.

A Thomas 2006