Westray, Queena Howe
Broch (Iron Age)(Possible), Settlement (Iron Age)(Possible)
Site Name Westray, Queena Howe
Classification Broch (Iron Age)(Possible), Settlement (Iron Age)(Possible)
Alternative Name(s) Knowe Of Queen O'howe; Links Of Noltland
Canmore ID 2766
Site Number HY44NW 11
NGR HY 4250 4948
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/2766
- Council Orkney Islands
- Parish Westray
- Former Region Orkney Islands Area
- Former District Orkney
- Former County Orkney
HY44NW 11 4250 4948.
(HY 4250 4947) Knowe of Queen o' Howe (NR)
OS 6" map, Orkney, 2nd ed., (1900).
An obviously artificial mound which lies almost due north-south with a height of at least 7' and an overall diameter of from 60' to 65'. It is turf-covered, but largely composed of stones, often of considerable size. On the top near the north end there is a slight circular hollow formerly used for burning kelp.
The mound has obviously been much disturbed, the west side in particular being extensively damaged. On the NW a number of loose boulders are scattered round what may have been the original margin.
ONB. suggests the name may come from a vessel named 'Queen o'How'.
(See also G Petrie notebooks No. 9, 132-3).
Name Book 1879; RCAHMS 1946, visited 1928.
Knowe of Queen o'Howe, a turf-covered mound measuring c 22.0m in diameter and c 2.2m in height, showing a content of large stones in a hollow in the top. To the N of the mound the sea has eroded the shore and exposed traces of drystone structures and middens of shells and animal bones for a distance of 85.0m. It is probable that this is a broch with out-buildings, but there is no conclusive evidence.
Surveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (RL) 26 June 1970.
Two sherds of early Iron Age pottery, one basal and one body, found in a midden of the main mound, were deposited in Tankerness House Museum (THM 1990.103).
D Lynn and B Bell 1990.
Field Visit (June 1983)
Queena Howe HY 4250 4948 HY44NW 11
Where the sand gives way to a rocky shore on the W side of Links of Noltland, a slightly raised and hummocky area of rough grass is dominated by a steep mound 22m across and 2.2m high, which stands 20m back from the shoreline and probably contains the remains of a broch. The shore banks opposite it show an erosion-section some 85m long across a series of massive stone structures. There appear to be several concentric walls emerging from the section in its E half and re-entering in the W. The outer of these walls, against the outer side of which much shell midden material has been heaped, is built of heavy beach-boulders propped on edge, reminiscent of the 'breakwater' at Clickhimin (Hamilton 1968, p. 76 and plate xii). There is no trace of the enclosure which must have given the site its name ('quoy-mound'; such curious forms as 'Queen of Howe' arise from modern misunderstanding).
RCAHMS 1983, visited June 1983.
(G Petrie, Notebook No. 9, pp. 132-3; RCAHMS 1946, ii, p. 352, No. 1043; DES 1977, 25; OR 690).
Field Visit (1998)
A large mound and a coastal exposure containing structural remains are located in close proximity but may not necessarily be associated. It has been suggested previously that these remains represent a broch and adjacent settlement. The stucture(s) revealed in the section is associated with anthropogenic soils and midden deposits and would appear tho represent a settlement; if not a broch, then a substantial house. The mound, which has been identified as a broch, however, has a well defined form which appears more designed than the result of a post-abandonment build -up. The broch mound interpretation cannot be entirely ruled out at this stage, but the possiblity that it may be a burial monument should be borne in mind.The area in which the site is situated appears to be a sand trap and there may be a considerable depth of sand covering any further archaeological deposits in the wider locality. Clearly, this is a complex site with two or more large structures represented. The substantial depth of deposits would suggest that activity in the area continued over a long period of time. The depth of sand covering this site suggests that the remains may well have survived well up to now, but it is currently being destroyed by coastal erosion and attention is very urgently required.
(i) A pudding-shaped mound with steep sides lies approximately 5m from the coast edge. It measures some 22m in diameter and stands up to 2.2m high. The summit is disturbed and the tops of some large stones are visible within the hollow. The surface of the mound is lumpy and uneven. There are further, more amorphous mounds to the north and east sides of the main mound. Over 90% of the overall site area is grass covered. The large mound is seperated from the coast edge by a track which appears to run over buried archaeological deposits.
(ii) There are extensive archaeological deposits visible nearby in the eroding coastal section. Here, the remains of several curvilinear walls and wall ends protrude from the section face. Towards the northern end of this exposure are the remains of a corbelled cell. These wall are all substantial drystone constructions formed from regularly coursed slabs. Interspersed between the walls are anthropogenic deposits containing inclusions of shell and bone. The exposure extends for some 90m, with up to 3m of archaeological deposits being visible above the level of the storm beach. These deposits extend below the level of the beach and the base of the section was not exposed.
Moore and Wilson, 1998
Coastal Zone Assessment Survey
Publication Account (2002)
HY44 6 KNOWE OF QUEEN o' HOWE ('Queena Howe')
HY/42504948
Possible broch on Westray I., in the form of a conspicuous turfed mound quite near the sea in which many stones are visible. In particular a long sea-eroded section was visible in 1983 in which a series of massive stone structures were seen [3]. There seemed to be several concentric walls emerging from the section in its east half and re-entering it on the west.
Sources: 1. OS card HY 44 NW 11: 2. RCAHMS 1946, 2, no. 1043, 352: 3. Lamb 1983, 29.
E W MacKie 2002
