Heart Of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site Landscape Project

A pilot landscape project was undertaken in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site (HONO WHS) Buffer Zone, West Mainland, Orkney (Canmore ID: 2014, 307174, 1721, 1746; SM7700). During field walking, 23 fields were walked in 10m transects (including two fields that were re-walked, 137B and 152B from previous seasons), three areas were covered by walkover/lochside survey and an archive research day was held. Schools outreach is ongoing at the time of writing and the fieldwork results are still being collated. A total of 74 fields have now been walked since 2015. This project developed previous field walking activities into a pilot landscape project, which applied a range of outreach and training activities to case-study areas within the Buffer Zone at Maeshowe, Deepdale/Lyking, Maesquoy and Ness farm.

Prehistoric activity was evident in the results of the field walking from low- and very low-density scatters and isolated worked flint (e.g. Fields 152 B, 154, 155, 156, 157, 159, 160,162, 163, 165, 168 & 174). In some fields, prehistoric activity was evidenced by coarse stone tools only (e.g. Fields 161, 163, 166, 170), but often flint and stone tools were found in similar locations (e.g. Fields 168, 174). A discrete spread of cramp was found in Field 154 at Ness farm, similar to other cramps spreads around the farmstead identified during previous seasons.

Several fields contained prehistoric settlements and funerary monuments, where, in most cases, low mounds and earthworks visible on the ground surface corresponded with artefact scatters (flint, coarse stone tools, ard points), patches of stone (sometimes burnt) and enhanced soils (Field 137 and 152 were discovered during previous seasons). A probable Neolithic settlement was identified in Field 154, visible as a low mound accompanied by an artefact scatter including an axe-butt and chisel arrowhead. In Field 158, two low mounds in the SW corner were accompanied by reddish soil, cramp and flaked stone bars, perhaps indicating that the mounds are funerary. A large low mound in Field 160, associated with reddish soil, flint and trimmed stone, is likely to be the remains of a prehistoric settlement (corresponds to cropmark HY31NW 112). Two low mounds in the re-walked Field 137 B were associated with flaked stone bars, ard points and hammer-stones, and could be the remains of Bronze Age houses. Two low mounds identified in Field 162, were associated with flint, cramp, hammer-stones, slag and enhanced soils, indicating prehistoric settlement. Another probable settlement site was identified in Field 163 in the form of a doughnut-shaped earthwork with enhanced soils, stone, prehistoric pottery and coarse stone tools. The prehistoric settlement discovered in Field 152 last season was revisited, and additional flint was recovered. The low broch mound in Field 166 at Redland (Canmore ID: 1721) yielded burnt bone, cramp/slag and coarse stones tools accompanied by fire-cracked stone.

Part of Field 174 at Wasbister was shallow ploughed (NW area by the road) and was walked to assess the potential for artefact scatters, which might correspond with the known prehistoric settlement and enclosures within the scheduled area (SM7700). Seven surface features were visible as darker enhanced soils containing ash and midden. A general scatter of finds was recovered, including a flaked stone bar, ard points, hammer-stones, fired clay and flint, but these generally did not seem to correspond closely with the features. The surface features correspond with anomalies noted in previous geophysical survey and, combined with the finds, confirm the presence of prehistoric settlement known from nearby earthwork enclosures and houses (Canmore ID: 1705).

General scatters of post-medieval and modern ceramics, clay-pipe and glass were recovered in most fields. The finds have yet to be analysed in full.

Walkover and lochside surveys were undertaken in three areas: Maesquoy (6 sites), Wasbister along the Loch of Stenness edge (6 sites), Lochside (3 sites). Sites included: Maesquoy - two burnt mounds (Site 1 & 2; Canmore ID: 2014) and linear boundaries (Site 3 & 4); Wasbister - a disc barrow (Site 7; Canmore ID: 1718) and a previously unrecorded noust (Site 11); Lochside - a large natural mound with recent earthworks (perhaps antiquarian excavations; Site 13) and a low mound at the southern end of a promontory to the west of Lochside farm (Site 15, perhaps a barrow).

Archive research sessions focusing on the case-study areas and schools outreach workshops are ongoing. Survey results were being processed at the time of writing. Research, distribution maps, and full site details will be available in the project report.

Field walking areas:

Field no Farm name NGR

137B Breckan HY 32152 16472

152B Tormiston HY 30905 12105

154 Ness Farm HY 30668 14621

155 Lochside, HY 31427 13400

156 Lower Hobister HY 32660 12775

157 Appieteen HY 27600 14862

158 Maesquoy HY 31245 16680

159 Maesquoy HY 30800 16490

160 Overhouse HY 31965 16822

161 Breckan HY 32127 16323

162 Breckan HY 31964 16552

163 Maesquoy HY 31783 16529

164 Hindatoon HY 32062 14182

165 Tormiston HY 30962 11808

166 Redland HY 26566 13904

167 Redland HY 36323 13919

168 Deepdale HY 26915 11970

169 Newbrough HY 25791 12114

170 Nistaben HY 30039 16438

171 Nistaben HY 30151 16695

172 Linklater Engineering HY 29797 11176

173 Seatter HY 25996 14185

174 Bockan HY 28910 13860

Walkover Survey areas:

Maesquoy HY 31800 16400

Wasbister HY 28922 13686 – HY 28674 13831

Lochside HY 30880 13943 – HY 31050 13070

Archive: NRHE (intended)

Funder: Historic Environment Scotland, Orkney Archaeology Society

Daniel Lee, Amanda Brend, Christopher Gee, Linda Somerville - Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology (ORCA), University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute

(Source: DES Vol 20)