Millhouse, Sand Fiold, Bay Of Skaill
Barrow(S) (Bronze Age), Cist(S) (Bronze Age)(Possible), Cist (Early Bronze Age), Inhumation(S) (Early Bronze Age), Necklace (Jet)(Bronze Age)(Possible)
Site Name Millhouse, Sand Fiold, Bay Of Skaill
Classification Barrow(S) (Bronze Age), Cist(S) (Bronze Age)(Possible), Cist (Early Bronze Age), Inhumation(S) (Early Bronze Age), Necklace (Jet)(Bronze Age)(Possible)
Canmore ID 1667
Site Number HY21NW 15
NGR HY 2388 1913
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/1667
- Council Orkney Islands
- Parish Sandwick
- Former Region Orkney Islands Area
- Former District Orkney
- Former County Orkney
HY21NW 15 2388 1913.
(HY 2388 1913) Tumuli (NR)
OS 6" map, Orkney, 2nd ed., (1903).
Three ancient burial mounds, the largest of which was opened by Sir Joseph Banks (Name Book 1880) before 1772, disclosing three cists, one of which contained beads. These may be the jet necklace reported by Low as having been found by Banks in the area.(Information from G Low 1879) The type of cists is not stated but Banks records two variations in the vicinity, one - a short cist of five rough-hewn stones, covered by a small cairn and overlaid by sand, and the other - a cist of six stones, the sixth forming the floor, inserted into the sand-hills, some times
in layers. They contained skeletons of men, women and children, but whether crouched or extended is not known. The Commission, in 1928, found it impossible to locate the three published mounds among so many of their kind.
RCAHMS 1946.
Only two sandy grass-covered mounds can now be identified with any of those published on the OS 6" - B and C.
A - HY 2379 1912, no trace, possibly ploughed out.
B - HY 2382 1915 - a large, well-shaped circular mound, 1.8m. high, possibly a natural sand-dune.
C - HY 2389 1915 - a low spread mound, 1.2m. high, possibly a natural sand-dune.
D - HY 2394 1915 - Mrs Linklater (Information from Mrs Linklater, Millcroft, Beyskaill.) pointed out the spot where, while quarrying for sand c.1945, a mechanical excavator exposed a capstone below which was a human skull. This site occurred under a mound similar to the others, but only a fraction of its west side now remains.
Surveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (AA) 20 May 1967.
Field Visit (20 May 1967)
Only two sandy grass-covered mounds can now be identified with any of those published on the OS 6" - B and C.
A - HY 2379 1912, no trace, possibly ploughed out.
B - HY 2382 1915 - a large, well-shaped circular mound, 1.8m. high, possibly a natural sand-dune.
C - HY 2389 1915 - a low spread mound, 1.2m. high, possibly a natural sand-dune.
D - HY 2394 1915 - Mrs Linklater (Information from Mrs Linklater, Millcroft, Beyskaill.) pointed out the spot where, while quarrying for sand c.1945, a mechanical excavator exposed a capstone below which was a human skull. This site occurred under a mound similar to the others, but only a fraction of its west side now remains.
Surveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (AA) 20 May 1967.
Project (2009)
HY 2388 1913 (centred on) A survey of c25ha is currently being undertaken in the Bay of Skaill joining up the work of previous surveys (WHA IBZ Phase XI 2008) with that undertaken as part of this project. The work mainly involves gradiometer survey but EM (electromagnetic) work has been carried out on a sub-sample of the area.
Initial results and analysis indicate that the windblown sands identified in the northern fields of the WHA XI work continue across the current survey area and that little of archaeological importance is visible. This may reflect the burial of sites by significant amounts of sand and the consequent weakening of magnetic enhancement to below readily detectable levels. The existence of former sand quarries in this area is indicative of the depth and extent of the sand deposits. Further analysis and interpretation is required, but this survey work adds to a detailed picture of c70ha around Skara Brae and the Bay of Skaill, significantly
enhancing our ability to understand this landscape.
Archive: OCGU
Funder: University of Oxford
Mary Saunders – Orkney College Geophysics Unit
Magnetometry (2009)
HY 2388 1913 (centred on) A gradiometer survey of c25ha was undertaken in the Bay of Skaill joining up the work of previous surveys (WHA IBZ Phase XI 2008) with that undertaken as part of this project.
Archive: OCGU
Funder: University of Oxford
Mary Saunders – Orkney College Geophysics Unit
Electromagnetic (2009)
HY 2388 1913 (centred on) An electromagnetic survey was undertaken in the Bay of Skaill joining up the work of previous surveys (WHA IBZ Phase XI 2008) with that undertaken as part of this project.
Archive: OCGU
Funder: University of Oxford
Mary Saunders – Orkney College Geophysics Unit
Note (2020)
Bay of Skaill
This burial site in Orkney Islands was a focus for funerary practices in the Bronze Age period, between 2200 BC and 1501 BC.
Prehistoric Grave Goods project site ID: 60008
CANMORE ID: 1667
Total no. graves with grave goods: 1
Total no. people with grave goods: 2
Total no. grave goods: 2
Prehistoric Grave Goods project Grave ID: 72316
Grave type: Cist
Burial type(s): Inhumation, Inhumation
Grave good: Bag
Materials used: Textile
Current museum location: Unknown
Grave good: Necklace
Materials used: Jet/Lignite/Shale/Coal (Unspecified)
Current museum location: Unknown
Further details, the full project database and downloads of project publications can be found here: https://doi.org/10.5284/1052206
An accessible visualisation of the database can be found here: http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/grave-goods/map/
