Bu Of Orphir, Lavacroon
Midden (Period Unassigned), Mound (Period Unassigned), Crucible, Ingot Mould, Unidentified Pottery (Norse)
Site Name Bu Of Orphir, Lavacroon
Classification Midden (Period Unassigned), Mound (Period Unassigned), Crucible, Ingot Mould, Unidentified Pottery (Norse)
Alternative Name(s) Earl's Bu
Canmore ID 1972
Site Number HY30SW 4
NGR HY 3325 0445
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/1972
- Council Orkney Islands
- Parish Orphir
- Former Region Orkney Islands Area
- Former District Orkney
- Former County Orkney
HY30SW 4 3325 0445.
(HY 3325 0445) Tumulus (NR) (Site of)
OS 6"map, Orkney, 2nd ed., (1903).
A mound could be distinguished from the rest of the ploughed field in 1880 (Name Book 1880) but it was published in 1881 (On the OS 25"Orkney 1st ed.(1880) as a "site" symbol and no trace of the mound was seen
by the Commission in 1928.
RCAHMS 1946.
The remains of a mound can be seen in a ploughed field at HY 3324 0447. It measures approx. 14.0m in diameter and 0.3m in height, and shows up as a dark patch in otherwise light-coloured soil, with a concentration of medium and small stones.
Resurveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS(RB) 8 May 1966.
Surface finds on this ploughed mound ('Lavacroon') ranged from Prehistoric to Norse period.
C Batey 1979; 1980
Mound surveyed 1979 and 1980 after ploughing revealed stone slabs (some dressed) and midden depost. Gridded collection and plotting of artifacts revealed evidence for industrial activity on a considerable scale, including crucibles and possible fragments of furnace-lining. On the basis of the pottery and of the discovery of a steotite ingot-mould, this activity is assigned to the Norse period and tentatively linked with the nearby Earl's Bu (HY30SW 2).
C Batey and Freeman 1986.
Field Visit (17 September 1993)
This mound is surrounded by a small platform c.3.0m wide, which could be the result of a natural knoll being levelled before the platform was built.
There are reports of burnt mounds in the vicinity. If this is a burial mound it would appear that by chance a small complex of burnt and burial mounds have survived.
This bell-shaped mound measures 6.0m in diameter and 1.0m in height. Some clay and small stones are visible. It is probably most visible from Orphir Bay c.300m to the S.
Information from the Orkney Barrows Project (JD), 1993
