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Neolithic settlement evidence; Wideford to Cuween

A FERTILE PLAIN

Colin Richard has finished a three week dig in Orkney on an Early Neolithic house on the lands of Smerquoy across from where the Old Finstown Road bottoms out at the base of Wideford Hill. along from Redworth. From the old trail to the tomb this seems to stand at the head of an old burn system. Given the time constraints the decision was made to concentrate on this part of a suspected settlement, at HY403113. At the beginning he said he believed that there are further settlements hereabouts. Other settlements have been excavated in recent times based on flint scatters. Over towards Rennibister there was the 'Wideford Meadow' dig at HY407126 and north of the Quanterness tomb the Crossiecrown settlement at HY423137. In 2008 I saw [what seemed to me to be] likely-looking cropmarks at HY406122 in the field directly below the Wideford tomb, perhaps an extension of 'Wideford Meadow' ? Between here and the main road came the Old Dyke of Quanterness (i.e. Gorse Dyke) flint scatter HY407126. A flint scatter came from near Rennibister, at HY398123. A mace head fragment was found on the lands of Kingsdale (in the area of HY377117), and at nearby Rossmyre 'horse marsh' a leaf-shaped flint arrowhead came to light (roughly HY382120). Further towards Finstown a hammerstone was discovered in the Grimbister region, though these artefacts are less dateable. And then below Cuween Hill another settlement was dug on the Stonehall farmland HY366126.

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wideford Posted by wideford
27th May 2013ce


Comments (1)

The 'spiral' decorated stone found at Smerquoy has a match at Lower Arsdale http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/6579/lower_arsdale.html , Chris Gee said tonight wideford Posted by wideford
13th September 2013ce
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