Sanday, Otterswick

This flat tract of land is now enclosed and much of it

improved pasture or arable.

Information from Orkney SMR (RGL) Aug 79

Otterswick, Sanday HY c. 69 42 HY64SE

Dr Wood describes a large tract of moor on which were many circular mounds containing cramp. The area is now enclosed. and most of it improved or cultivated.

RCAHMS 1980

(NSA, xv, Orkney, 139; OR 382)

considerable extent of barren uncultivated ground

stretches to the SW (from Cleat) along the banks of Otterswick,

and is terminated by the farm of Coligarth. Many small circular

mounds may be seen on this moor, all, or most of which, contain

masses of cramp. [R1]

Between .. Cleat and .. Koligarth a considerable extent of

uncultivated ground stretches to the southward, still along the

bay of Otarswick or Odinswick. Many small circular mounds are on

this barren moor all of which are composed of large pieces of

Cramp. There is no appearance of any kind of building stone in

these mounds they differ entirely from these risings to which I

have given the name of Tumuli; their origin must be referred to a

very remote antiquity. The country people always call them

places of sacrifice, can be referred to the Bruna = old? No

graves and as far as I could learn no urns have been found here,

but about a mile further south on the same moor (the heaps of

cramp are found occasionally throughout the whole extent of the

moor) a number of stone graves were discovered a few years ago.

I examined three of them the rest were destroyed before I was

aware of their discovery. They were each about four feet long,

three feet wide and three feet deep. They were lined with flat

stones, each grave was formed of six stones, and the stone

forming the bottom was a handful of bones (sic). One of the

graves contained an urn, nearly three feet high, and measuring

across at the widest part two feet ten inches (see sketch) it was

formed of stone or baked clay of an unctuous, soapy feel. A flat

stone was fitted on as a cover and the bottom was formed by the

flag stone on which the urn stood, on which also was a handful of

ashes with fragments of bones.

Petrie manuscript SAS 551, at RMS. Wood MS lost, (sketch not

preserved).

Cleat. HY 704 427. Coligarth HY 688 417.

Information from Orkney SMR