Orkney Riddler

  Breckness Cairn, Stromness,  Orkney  Abbreviated from:- Notice of the Excavation of a Chambered Mound Near Breckness, Stromness, Orkney. By M. M. Charleson, F.S.A Scot In the summer of 1900, by the kind permission of W. G. T. Watt, Esq. of Skaill, I commenced the excavation of a large mound on the farm of Westerleafea, near Ereckness in Outertown, Stromness. There was no room for doubt as to the artificiality of the mound, which, apart from its symmetry and surroundings, had previously supplied a neighbouring farmer with a quantity of material for building purposes, these operations, more properly depredations, leaving a gap on the south side of the mound in which several upright slabs of some size were noticeable. At this point we began the excavation,........ It will, I think, be seen from the foregoing description that although the chambers excavated bear some resemblance to those structures occasionally met with in Orkney, which have been regarded as sepulchral, and...

  Unstan Cairn     Unstan Cairn must be the Orcadian Cairn with the easiest access of them all. It is close to the main road between Kirkwall and Stromness near the Brig'o'waith.  It's also not far from the visitor centre for the Maeshowe Chambered Cairn which is in Stenness Village. It must also be as famous as Maeshowe, having a type of carinated pottery named after it, the pottery that Robert Stewart Clouston found in it when he excavated it in 1884. I am fond of reading the accounts of these pioneer archaeologists. Their words say as much about the excavators as it does about the excavation. It is like being in the cairn with them, sharing their adventure.    Roberts report to the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries follows:- Notice of The Excavation of a Chambered Cairn of the Stone Age, at Unstan, in the Loch of Stennis, Orkney.  by Robert Stewart Clouston. The " knowe of Unstan " is situated in a piece of land jutting into the Loch of Sten...

 From:- The Orkneys in Early Celtic Times, Two Lectures, by James M. Macbeath, published by William Peace and Son, in 1892. Page 18 Cesar informs us that at the time of his landing in the south of Britain 50BC "the interior of island was quite uncultivated , that there they never sowed their lands, but followed the occupation of the hunter and the shepherd, and went clad in the skins and lived on the flesh and milk of their flocks and herds, and spoils of the chase" More about the migration of neolithic people to Orkney, in the Orkney Riddle   #neolithic #prehistory #archaeology #Orkney #Scotland #Brodgar #skarabrae 

 From:- The Orkneys in Early Celtic Times, Two Lectures, by James M. Macbeath, published by William Peace and Son, in 1892. Page 15 It should be born in mind that in the burials of the second stone age - the neolithic or Surface stone age - the body was either placed in a contracted position, or in a sitting posture, or burnt, but very rarely extended to its full length: sometimes the knees were drawn up to the breast, and rare instances would seem to suggest that the bones had been broken, when the body could not otherwise be disposed of within the straitened dimensions which custom had prescribed for these primitive tombs. The people of that age were probably warriors of the type prevailing for centuries, whose creed was that to die in bed was to die dishonored: thus was the warrior placed in his grave in a position enabling him readily to sprung up when the sound of the war-cry should summon him to join his comrades and renew the strife. More about the migration of neolithic ...

  Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn   Tomb of the dogs    (Photo:- orkneyology.com) Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn is a relatively accessible Cairn on mainland Orkney.  It is accessible from the back  road that runs from Finstown to Kirkwall. The climbing walk takes you through an area where several small occupation structures have been excavated, Stonehall Knoll, Meadow and Farm, and just short of the top of the hill is the mound of the Cairn. The view from here is of Wideford Hill and the Stronsay/Westray Firths with Shapinsay and other northern islands off in the distance. It is quite sheltered from the persistent southwestern winds, and even now more trees seem to survive here than there are in more exposed parts of the archipelago.  The Cairn was excavated by M. M. Charleson in 1902, and the report that he wrote was published in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries as:- Notice of a Chambered Cairn in the Parish of Firth, Orkney. By M. M. Charleson...

  From:- The Orkneys in Early Celtic Times, Two Lectures, by James M. Macbeath, published by William Peace and Son, in 1892. Page 9 "When our celtic ancestors came first to these islands, and for centuries thereafter , there is reason to believe that the lower lying grounds were thickly covered with wood , in which mountain ash, birch, pine , and Hazel largely predominated and other species have been found embedded in peat mosses with the bark still fresh and entire. These would form a covert for the wild boar, red deer, reindeer, and other animals then native to the group, as well as fuel and shelter to the early settlers, who were little if at all removed from the condition of homeless roaming savages, living chiefly by their success in the chase and fishing; making rude and primitive garments and tools of the spoils of these, and having the roughest and rudest weapons made from wood, bone, and stone, with apparently very little, if any kind of knowledge of the working in meta...