Westray, Ness Of Tuquoy

Ness of Tuquoy HY 4593 4325 HY44SE

Adjoining the isolated steading on the S side of the extremity of the Ness, the shore banks are being eroded, exposing over a 30m front, and at about 1m below ground level, a layer of settlement debris 0.5m thick, resting on a buried soil, and itself covered by blown sand. The deposit comprises shell and animal-bone midden containing some burnt stones and drystone masonry. At the E end of the exposure is a row of upright slabs, and at the W end, a setting of five such flags looks like the arrangement at the doorway of a prehistoric house.

RCAHMS 1983, June 1983.

(OR 869).

A comparison between what was visible during this survey and what was previously recorded indicates that this site has suffered severe erosion and substantial archaeological deposits have been lost since the early 1980's. There are traces of very degraded walling, together with anthropogenic midden-type deposits visible over a distance of 15m in the eroding coastal section. The upper 0.3m of the section is made up of topsoil and turf; below this the archaeological deposits are visible for 2m above the level of the storm beach. Fragments of walling, in very poor condition, stand to a height of 0.4m or six courses high. Threre are several upright slabs and edge-set stone nearby, but it is difficult to determine any form. The associated soil deposits contain infrequent shell fragments. There are slight topographic indications that further remains survive in the immediate hinterland area. The ruins of an 18th-20th C farmstead lie above this site.

Moore and Wilson, 1998

Coastal Zone Assessment Survey