Archaeology Notes

Event ID 642830

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/642830

HU39SW 2 3269 9006

HU 327 901. A gallery which could well have been a pre- historic workshop for the production of stone tools was found and examined by Scott in 1942 and visited by Calder in 1949.

The gallery had been constructed as a trench with one side formed by an intrusive dyke of quartz-felspar-porphyry, and the opposite side and ends of dry-stone masonry, the whole being sunk just below ground level and covered by lintel stones, most of which had been displaced but through which must have been the original access.

Inside, the space measured almsot 10ft long by 2ft 2 ins to 3ft 10 ins wide, and 3ft to 3ft 9 ins high, above a layer of rock chippings 4 to 6 ins in depth which had all the appearance of waste flakes and among which were found a stone anvil, hammer-stones and cores. (The anvil and speciments of the hammers, cores and flakes have passed to the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland [NMAS]. The dyke is formed of rock peculiar to this area and neolithic and other implements of this and spherulitic felsite, peculiar to the Beorgs of Uyea, have been found throughout Shetland. P R Ritchie (P R Ritchie and S Piggott 1968) states that the rock of the Beorgs of Uyea is not unique in Britain.

L G Scott and C S T Calder 1954

Situated at HU 3266 9007, this 'working gallery' is generally as described above.

Surveyed at 1:10,000.

Visited by OS(RL) 20th May 1969.

(Name: HU 3266 9007) Neolithic Axe Factory & Quarry (NR)

OS 1:10,000 map 1971.

Six complete axe 'rough-outs' of riebeckite felsite were recovered during examination of this site. A large end scraper of the same rock was also discovered.

B Beveridge 1973

One of the 'rough-outs' found by Beveridge is in Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology (Z. 27235).

(Undated) information in Museum Accessions Register.