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Westray Stone returns home
The Westray Stone, pictured above, has returned to the island, after more than 25 years in the Orkney Museum.
The ornately-carved prehistoric stone is being exhibited in Westray's new heritage centre, which is within a mile of where part of the stone was found during routine quarrying work in January 1981.
The stone was once part of a Neolithic chambered cairn which is thought to have been destroyed in prehistory. A second part, and two smaller carved pieces, were found the following Spring in a dig led by Niall Sharples, now of the University of Cardiff.
It is one of the finest examples of prehistoric spiral carving in Britain and is similar to carving in the tombs in the Boyne Valley in Ireland.
The excavation report is available online here.
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