Sanday, Bay Of Stove
Settlement (Neolithic), Mace (Neolithic)
Site Name Sanday, Bay Of Stove
Classification Settlement (Neolithic), Mace (Neolithic)
Alternative Name(s) Hacksness
Canmore ID 3458
Site Number HY63NW 9
NGR HY 6121 3531
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/3458
- Council Orkney Islands
- Parish Cross And Burness
- Former Region Orkney Islands Area
- Former District Orkney
- Former County Orkney
HY63NW 9 6121 3531.
(Area: HY 612 354 ) Slight traces of a building erected on what has obviously been a prehistoric site lie on a low rocky scarp overhanging the beach about 100 yds south of the chapel site (HY63NW 13), on the east side of the Bay of Stove.
The remains are too slight for classification, but an abraded hammer-stone and a few chips of flint were picked out of the bank beneath.
RCAHMS 1946, visited 1928.
HY 612 353. A fine Neolithic 'pestle mace-head' of polished red banded rock, found in 1934, at this site, has been presented to Stromness Museum.
R B K Stevenson 1963.
Traces of drystone structures of indeterminate type are exposed in the shore at HY 6121 3531 for a length of about 40.0m. It was confirmed locally that this was where the 'pestle mace-head' was found. It is still in Stromness Museum.
Visited by OS(RL) 10 July 1970.
HY 612 353 In 1980, Lamb documented a Neolithic settlement site eroding from the SE shore of the Bay of Stove, on Sanday. The site had been previously known due to the discovery of a polished stone mace head in 1934. In 1992 a team from Bradford and Glasgow Universities carried out a survey of the eroding site which included defining the limits of the settlement and drawing the eroding section. Although the site revealed in the section was thought to extend back approximately 16m, a second, much larger late Neolithic settlement was discovered through surface material in the field behind. The excavation of a trial trench produced grooved ware. This second site had the appearance of a very substantial mound.
An intensive fieldwalking survey was carried out over a period of two weeks in May 1995 to evaluate this second settlement, and if posible determine its relationship to the earlier settlement which was being seriously damaged by coastal erosion.
Over 1500 artefacts were recovered including many fine flint scrapers, arrowheads and blades. Cores, stone tools, burnt bone, pumice, worked quartz and a polished stone axe fragment were also found. The finds were mainly clustered in the SE corner of the field particularly over the mound, and towards the edge of the field which abutted the eroding section. Due to the size of the assemblage and the quality of the finds it is hoped that a great deal of information will be gained from the further study of the material and its distribution.
J Morrison 1995.
Field Visit (June 1979)
'Indeterminate site, Bay of Stove' - 100yds S of chapel site
on a low rocky scarp overhanging the beach, slight traces of the
foundations of a building evidently erected on a prehistoric
site. An abraded hammer stone and a few chips of flint were
picked on the beach beneath. [R1]
A fine Neolithic 'pestle mace-head' of polished red banded
rock, found here 1934, presented to Stromness Museum. [R2]
Traces of indeterminate drystone structures exposed in shore
for a length of about 40m. Confirmed locally that this is where
the mace-head was found. OS visit 1970.
As described OS. Erosion very active. Site marked at
banks-top level by rich growth of nettles. Many masonry
structures including ends of walls, and occupation deposit, in
face, but close approach impossible at this time of year because
of concentration of fulmar nests in the stonework. RGL Jun 79.
Note (1980)
Bay of Stove, Sanday HY 6121 3531 HY63NW 9
Stonework including end-on walls with definite faces is visible in section for 40m along shore, at spot where Neolithic mace-head is reported to have been found. Deposit is of no great thickness, and erosion is slow but steady.
RCAHMS 1980
(RCAHMS 1946, ii, p. 43, No. 172; DES, 1963, 39; OR 136)
Field Visit (1999)
Extensive archaeological remains have been exposed by the sea in the coastal section. These extend for 45m or more along the coast, beneath a 0.4m covering of blown sand and topsoil. The deposits include fragments of drystone walling, probable floor surfaces and stone features, in association with various anthropogenic soil deposits. To either side of this main exposure there are deep ploughsoil deposits visible in section. Chance finds have included a Neolithic mace head and flint flakes. A programme of survey work carried out in 1992 established that the settlement extended inland for approximately 16m. The erosion face was also recorded at this time. A second, late Neolithic, settlement was identified in the field behind and fieldwalking here in 1995 recovered a quantity of artifacts, including worked flint and a fragment of a polished stone axe. The site continues to be eroded by the sea and has been further damaged by rabbits and nesting fulmars. Ref.: RCAHMS (1946), #172; Stevenson, RBK (1963) ''Stove, Sanday', DES 1963, 39; RCAHMS (1980), #70; Morrison, J (1995) 'Bay of Stove (Cross & Burness parish), Late Neolithic settlement site', DES 1995, 103; Bond, J et al (1995) 'Stove Bay: a new Orcadian grooved ware settlement', Scot Archaeol Rev, 9/10, 1995. 125-130.
Coastal Zone Assessment Survey, 1999
