Barnhouse Sweat Lodge


The Barnhouse Sweat Lodge

Structure 8






Some time after the initial establishment of the Barnhouse Settlement, this building was added, Structure 8.

The inner part of Structure 8, the near-square building, is surrounded by a clay platform within the circular surrounding wall.  

Stone hearths, boxes, pits, and spreads of ash suggest that the outer clay platform around the outside of the square building was used for a range of activities, that might have included cooking and food preparation





Barnhouse, Structure 8, plan

 




Barnhouse, Structure 8, entrance

The above photograph shows the entrance into Structure 8 with a fire hearth in the foreground, and what may or may not be a second hearth in the middle of the room beyond. 

The stonework has been designed to survive Orkney weather, but it does not accurately depict the design of the building that Neolithic people built. 




The above image shows a plan of the entrance to the structure, as it was excavated. At the middle of the entrance feature is a lobby which links the sweat lodge interior to hearth in which stones are heated for the sweat lodge ceremony. On either side of the lobby are entrances into the lobby, and threrby into the sweat lodge room.

Within the structure a group of artefacts was found :-


 


 

“A series of pits and hollows were dug into the floor on the left side (north-east). One of these contained a hoard of 14 prepared large flint nodules... “ (Richards) 

 

 


“a complete Grooved Ware vessel (that) was set into the clay floor adjacent to the eastern wall (left side on entry). The vessel was undecorated except for two horizontal grooves directly below the rim. Interestingly, the decorated portion was the only visible area of the pot projecting above the floor surface.” (Richards) 

Also, a tiny pinch-pot was found in a stone sided channel that drained water from the Structure. 

In the hearth outside the entrance to the Sweat Lodge, prepared stones like the large flint nodules would have been heated. They would then have been carried to the pit in which they were found, and water sprinkled over them to create steam. 

The water for the ceremony would have been stored in the Grooved Ware vessel, and the pinch pot would have been used to carry small amounts to the heated stones. 

The building has a hearth-like feature at the centre of the room, but it is far from certain that this was indeed a hearth. 

 

 


 

It is possible that this is a base pad for a centre post at the centre of the room that may have supported sloping roof beams leaning in from boundary edges of the structure to an apex at the top, a pyramid shaped building. 

An assistant to the Conductor of the meeting may have been stationed in the external lobby to manage the fire, heat the stones, and attend at the entrance while the Sweat Lodge Ceremony was ongoing. The fire pit was probably in open air to allow combustion without smoke getting into the lodge.

The structure that is represented by circular bank around the exterior of Structure 8 would have been tall enough to act as a windbreak for celebrants before and after the ceremony,  but chiefly to protect the fire in the hearth.

The outer stones of the inner structure would have supported the pyramid roof, and the inner stones would have been a bench for participants to sit on.


*




Index


The rich history of archaeology on Orkney provides source material for the following observations.

"Neolithic Migrants to Orkney" The story of the First, Founding Immigrants to Orkney 

"A Bizarre Idea" What's the Story, then?

"Walkable land in the North Sea" describes evidence that walkable land was present between Norfolk and Holland at a time when prehistoric people were occupying northern Europe. 

"Archaeology in the North Sea" looks at the elusive evidence that people could have walked from Caithness to South Ronaldsay. 

"3000BC" gives detailed evidence of tsunami events on the Norwegian Coast.

 "A Brief Guide to the Last Glaciation" How did the North Sea develop?

"Mainland Settlements" discusses and dates the early settlements across mainland Orkney.

"Barnhouse" describes this "Neolithic Village" a substantial group of Neolithic structures on the shore of Harray Loch. 

"Barnhouse Sweat Lodge" describes Structure 8, the Sweat Lodge at Barnhouse.

"Modern Sweat Lodge Practices" describes present day Sweat Lodge ceremonies.

"The Stones of Stenness" describes anomalies in the settings of the stones that formed the stone circle.

"The Ring of Brodgar" discusses just how many stones are there, or are not there, at the Ring of Brodgar. 

 "A Custom Among the Lower Class of People" , about 18th century Orkney people and the Stones at Brodgar. 

"Maeshowe, a Wonder of the Neolithic World" is the personal account of the excavation of the Maeshowe Cairn by the man who excavated it. I include it because it is so personal, not because it adds anything to our understanding. 

"Cairns of Orkney" is the commentary of several antiquarian archaeologists writing in previous centuries as they excavated Cairns in England, Scotland, and Orkney. Although these cairns may not have been excavated to a high standard, the commentary provided in these reports is, in my view, very personal, and highly approachable. 

"Cairns and the People in them" examines the bones of the people who were laid in cairns, and tells their stories.

"The Westrays" describes the Knap of Howar settlement, and the desolation of the islands that were found by the people of the Links of Noltland when they settled there at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. 

"Skara Brae, RCAHMS" is the official description of the Neolithic "Village"

"Skara Brae, Excavation", is an account of the excavation of Hut 7 in 1927. This is an interesting personal account of the Gordon Childe's Excavation by J Wilson Paterson.

"Dating Skara Brae" gives detailed dating evidence for Skara Brae 

"The Ness of Brodgar Excavation" and account of the excavation , before 2020, by Nick Card. 

"Dating the Ness of Brodgar" gives Dating evidence for the Ness of Brodgar 

"The Ferriby Boats" The first seafaring vessels? 

"The Orkney Vole" discusses the evidence that the Orkney Vole migrated from Europe to Orkney without setting foot on mainland Britain. 

Bere Barley, a Neolithic grain derivations of Bere Barley. 

"Concluding" , some simple remarks in conclusion.

"Finally" closing remarks.

Sources

All views and opinions expressed are my own, but it remains a work-in-progress for which positive criticism and comment is welcomed.


Jeffery Nicholls 

South Ronaldsay 

Orkney 

Jiffynorm@yahoo.co.uk 


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