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| Orkney Archaeology News | |
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Summer 2005 season of archaeological digs Archaeological survey work at Minehowe in Tankerness began a few weeks ago, marking the start of 2005's summer season of projects. But while the next few months will see a wealth of archaeological work in the county, one excavation is notable by its absence. Unfortunately, work at the Knowe o' Skea in Westray, an intriguing Iron Age cemetery with tantalising links to the Minehowe excavation, will not continue this year. It is hoped, however, that Historic Scotland funding will be available in 2006 to allow digging to continue. The good news, however, is that Hazel Moore and Graeme Wilson of EASE Archaeology still plan to return to Westray this summer to carry out post-excavation work. Minehowe
Returning to Minehowe, the start of this season's work will see Sue Ovenden, head of Orkney College's geophysics unit, lead an ongoing survey of the site. The latest work will use resistivity to complement previous ground-probing radar scans. Resistivity involves passing an electrical current through the ground at regular points on a survey grid. Electrical resistance in the soil varies, and is affected by the presence of archaeological features, so the patterns of resistance in the soil are recorded, plotted and interpreted. The resistivity scans will concentrate on the mound itself, before spreading out to take in elements of the surrounding area. This, says Nick Card, projects manager of Orkney Archaeological Trust (OAT), will give the experts a better idea of how the landscape originally looked - before the man-made alterations and the deposition of huge amounts of archaeological material. The geophysics will be followed in August by the final excavation of this phase of work. Nick explained: "This year we'll be finishing the workshop, the area where an Iron Age woman was found buried under the floor last year, as well as examining some of the anomalies that showed up on previous geophysics scans." "We looked at one last year, and it turned out to be a metalworking furnace. But there's about two dozen of them in the immediate vicinity, so it'll be interesting to see whether they all relate to similar furnaces, or something entirely different." He added: "Once we've finished this year, we need to get on with writing up all the results so far and getting them published, hopefully before 2009." Mesolithic remains? An exploratory excavation on Longhowe, a large mound near Minehowe, is also due to take place. This project is looking for the "long lost" Orkney Mesolithic - a period from 7000-4000BC, renowned in Orkney for the scarcity of evidence. The people of the Mesolithic period were nomadic hunter-gatherers, living in small groups and shifting according the season and the availability of food supplies. This, together with the fact that they did not construct stone buildings, means they have left little trace for the modern archaeologist. But following the discovery of a number of Mesolithic flints on Longhowe last year, geophysics work was carried out which suggested that a "structure" of some sort had once stood there. "Although there remains the possibility that these geophysics anomalies are natural, we're hoping that they'll prove to be evidence of early structures," said Nick. "If that is the case, we'll have found the first Mesolithic site in Orkney."
The Knowes o' Trotty, Harray
The end of June will see the Knowes o' Trotty, a Bronze Age barrow cemetery in Harray, revisited. The Knowes comprise of a series of 16 mounds arranged in two rows along the foot of the western slope of the Ward o' Redland. They were extensively surveyed in 2001, with a follow-up excavation in 2002. This year's work will concentrate on a structure discovered in 2002. This building, close to the north-east of the largest mound, was unsual, as structures - particularly domestic ones - are not commonly found at cemetery sites. Nick explained: "We're particularly interested in this 'house', " he added. "It's built very close to the burial mounds, so we want to look at it closely to get more information on the structure, in particular what it was used for." The 2002 trench, although revealing the building, was too small to allow its role to be clarified. Was it involved in the rituals surrounding the handling of the dead? Or was it simply a temporary residence for the deceased's relatives while they participated in the funeral rites. This year's work will hopefully help answer these, and more, questions.
Ness o' Brodgar The site of a large, previously unknown, prehistoric complex, on the southern end of the Ness o' Brodgar, will see further evaluation and assessment work this year. The OAT project follows trial trenches last year that confirmed that a dense concentration of features revealed by geophysical surveys was merely the "tip of an archaeological iceberg". The preliminary results indicate that much of the substantial mound covering the site, is artificial, comprising structures, middens and deep midden-enhanced soils dating to the Neolithic. In one trench last year part of a previously unrecorded chambered cairn was revealed. This year, the emphasis will be on a substantial double linear feature revealed by geophysics. Measuring over 80 metres long, prior to last year's investigations, it had been thought that the feature was medieval in date. It now seems likely to be prehistoric and relates to other Neolithic activity on the site. This year's excavation will hopefully confirm this. If so this strange anomaly may represent a new type of Neolithic monument forming an integral part of the Stenness-Brodgar complex.
World Heritage Area Geophysics
The ongoing project to survey an area of the World Heritage Site around the Ness o' Brodgar, continues this summer with plans to cover another 30 hectares. This year's scans will concentrate on apparently "blank" areas between the known archaeology. In addition, resistivity scans will take place in the areas to the south of the Barnhouse Settlement and north of the Ring o' Brodgar. Both these locations have been surveyed using magnetometry previously, and it is hoped that the new scans will complement their predecessors, and provide more clues as to the extent of the sub-soil archaeology remains. Ground probing radar will also be used on Fresh Knowe and Salt Knowe, two of the big mounds by the Ring of Brodgar. It is hoped the results will clarify what these mounds actually are. Are they Bronze Age barrow mounds or the remains of earlier Neolithic chambered cairns?
Rousay wreck Underwater archaeological work has not been common in Orkney over the years - a fact that makes one of this year's projects particularly interesting. The investigation follows the discovery of a small porcelain vase on the seabed off Rousay. The vase was lying beside a wooden wreck, which has since been confirmed as dating from the early 1700s. Bobby Forbes, of Stromness-based Sula Diving, has confirmed that the wreck is one of two possible vessels - a Dutch ship homeward bound from the Far East, or a Swedish vessel returning from the Caribbean. His diving expedition aims to confirm the identity of the wreck, its condition and whether other artefacts remain on site. It is hoped the information will shed some light on Orkney's role in global trade routes, as well as clarify whether the wreck requires some form of legislative protection. Quoygrew, Westray Last but not least, Dr James Barrett, of the University of York, will hopefully be back at the Viking/Medieval site at Quoygrew in Westray in June. In this, the seventh year of excavation, the excavations hope to uncover a phase of the site dating from the 9th or 10th century. Towards the end of last year's excavation geophysics scans and a trial trench allowed a tantalising glimpse of these structures, situated on the mound overlooking the later structures. James explained: "Pending funding, we hope to return to new discoveries of Viking Age and early medieval settlement at Quoygrew, with work intended to lead to consolidation for public display." |
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