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Toy Ness (Artificial Mound) — Images (click to view fullsize)

<b>Toy Ness</b>Posted by wideford<b>Toy Ness</b>Posted by wideford<b>Toy Ness</b>Posted by wideford<b>Toy Ness</b>Posted by wideford<b>Toy Ness</b>Posted by wideford<b>Toy Ness</b>Posted by wideford<b>Toy Ness</b>Posted by wideford

Toy Ness (Artificial Mound) — Fieldnotes

RCAHMS record no. HY30SE 9 - the Toy Ness designation covers part of the headland, from which four coastal sites were described in 1998. These can be distinguished from one another - inland are many obscured grassy mounds that (IIRC) to run into one other. The 4 are separated from the WWII radio mast remains by a marshy bit, but are closer than you'd gather from HES map. You could walk down the Swanbister Road and then from the Hillock of Breakna along the Bay of Swanbister, but this depends more on the tides (the Piggar farmtrack is often closed for livestock). Much simpler to approach from The Breck - from Orphir 'village' take the road to the Bu of Orphir and as you come to the Gyre junction take the road signed Breck and turn left at the coastline.
i) The first mound is 5mD by 0.5m high and stands slightly back from the coast edge, where under a foot of peat there is 8m exposed of a concentration of stone which an 2015 survey declared structural. ii) 25m to the south is a mound about the same size. iii) 5m from that, is one the same height but a slightly larger 5.5mD and only a metre from the coast edge. RCAHMS reported structural stone in rabbit scrapes and in the adjacent coastal exposure, but the survey did not find this and thought these remains might have been natural bedrock. 17 years is a long time with Orkney's weather. iv) 25m further south and 6m from the coast edge is a 7m by 5m oval mound with traces of a perimeter bank outside of it. Pitting in the middle could have come from an early dig.

The Cairns, Hall of Ireland (Cairn(s)) — Images

<b>The Cairns, Hall of Ireland</b>Posted by wideford<b>The Cairns, Hall of Ireland</b>Posted by wideford<b>The Cairns, Hall of Ireland</b>Posted by wideford<b>The Cairns, Hall of Ireland</b>Posted by wideford<b>The Cairns, Hall of Ireland</b>Posted by wideford<b>The Cairns, Hall of Ireland</b>Posted by wideford

The Cairns, Hall of Ireland (Cairn(s)) — Miscellaneous

described in the Orkney Name Book as mostly a raised earth and stone grass-covered mound [forming the northen end and ~25'D by 3' high] at the no, the remains of a Danish fort/castle (as they thought) . It is an uneven patch of ground approx. 100x50 yards with many irregular stony mounds that a recent survey think represents a substantial structure having seaward an enclosed yard (they also found a smaller mound landward of the structure's remains). RCAHMS described it as a 3m high N/S platform some 54x30m, and parallel to the coast, whose mostly level top rises slightly to the edges. To its seaward side bone pins were found in an area on the order of 50x10m that is enclosed by a curvilinear bank. The recent survey describes the structure as an irregular mound bounded by the yard (which goes all the way to the eroding coastline). The yard's north and south sides are formed by irregular earthen banks coming from the proposed structure's NW and SW corners.
At present it is proposed that this is a funerary or ritual site. In which case I think it could relate to the scant remains of a large disc barrow on the hillside above - the Howe of Tongue held a cist (https://canmore.org.uk/site/1492/hall-of-ireland)

Setter Noost (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork) — Images

<b>Setter Noost</b>Posted by wideford<b>Setter Noost</b>Posted by wideford<b>Setter Noost</b>Posted by wideford<b>Setter Noost</b>Posted by wideford<b>Setter Noost</b>Posted by wideford<b>Setter Noost</b>Posted by wideford<b>Setter Noost</b>Posted by wideford<b>Setter Noost</b>Posted by wideford<b>Setter Noost</b>Posted by wideford<b>Setter Noost</b>Posted by wideford<b>Setter Noost</b>Posted by wideford

Setter Noost (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork) — Fieldnotes

Site visited 17/9/2017. From the pier turn left and go down onto the shore by the Balfour Gatehouse and it is a reasonably short walk. Site is very close to the Lady Well, which I assume has undergone re-use as a lime kiln after the early maps showing its position if they are the same site

Setter Noost (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork) — Links

Setter Noost


Iron Age settlement - RCAHMS record no. HY41NE 13 at HY47301621 is believed to cover an area of about forty metres square by including more midden and various lumps and bumps above the shore. In 1972 in the low shore twenty metres west of a ruined lime kin in a seventeen metre exposure the O.S. saw several orthostats and bits of drystane wall as well as a midden 1.3 metres thick. At the west end of this an obvious external wall-face was in 1985 thought to be from some kind of round house, and quite a large one at that. In 1998 the Setter Noust site is described as walling indicative of an early structure and tumbled stone, with pot and bone and burnt stone in the extended midden [

Brough of Braebister (Promontory Fort) — Images

<b>Brough of Braebister</b>Posted by wideford<b>Brough of Braebister</b>Posted by wideford<b>Brough of Braebister</b>Posted by wideford<b>Brough of Braebister</b>Posted by wideford<b>Brough of Braebister</b>Posted by wideford<b>Brough of Braebister</b>Posted by wideford<b>Brough of Braebister</b>Posted by wideford<b>Brough of Braebister</b>Posted by wideford<b>Brough of Braebister</b>Posted by wideford<b>Brough of Braebister</b>Posted by wideford<b>Brough of Braebister</b>Posted by wideford<b>Brough of Braebister</b>Posted by wideford<b>Brough of Braebister</b>Posted by wideford<b>Brough of Braebister</b>Posted by wideford<b>Brough of Braebister</b>Posted by wideford

Brough of Braebister (Promontory Fort) — Miscellaneous

RCAHMS record no. HY20NW 20 is a mound 10 to 12 feet high mostly thought to be either the outwork to a broch (some instead go for a blockhouse underneath ) or an earlier promontory fort, the only dating evdence being broch-style pottery (finds lost), It lies ESE/WNW with an interior of the order 90' by 55'. The isthmus neck is blocked by a bank 10' wide and the same in height, in which Raymond Lamb saw walling traces with erect slabs amongst the rubble as well as what is left of a much slighter outer bank and ditch. On the mound antiquarians thought there had been a substantial stone structure reduced to slight scattered remains that led them to deduce 12' thick walls consistent with a broch. Some large stones stood in situ, more so at the cliff's west side. The mound's slopes abound in walling traces and earthfast stones. A shell midden yielded those fragments of the coarse ware called broch-type. RCAHMS couldn't find the midden later, but given how cnfusing the site lies I would suggest that this is the midden later found on the south side of the clifftop behind the supposed blockhouse. Much of the promontory contains wall traces and earthfast stones.

Brough of Braebister (Promontory Fort) — Fieldnotes

Take pedestrian ferry from Stromness to North Hoy (alternately take the Houton ferry and drive from Lyness). From Moaness pier follow the road straight up until you're nearing the reservoir at the start of the Rackwick Trail then turn right onto the road that starts parallel to Round Hill. Unless you own property here you will have to leave any transport behind when you reach the interpretation board, opposite which is a people gate, Just past Murra turn left. The road turns into a track as you approach Head. At Head turn left towards Braebister Burn then turn right snd follow the fence. The brough lies between Braebister Burn and the steep-sided Yelting Geo. The footbridge you see is for folk taking the coastal walk from Moaness continuing to the Kame of Hoy, the silo drums upstream had been aadaped as a fish hatchery. Along the mound is a diagonal line that brings to mind days excavating with wheelbarrows. This a grassy path about a metre wide that goes all the way up and ends at the edge of the best preserved section. I'd love it to be an antique track there but sespect the way was used for plundering stones for work elsewhere. The mound definitely feels like two different sites, one upon another. The archaeolgy goes all the way up to the cliff edges, so watch your step - the day I was there 40mph winds buffeted me as I risked the photos but no way was I circling taking video, you could die that way.

Ness of Brodgar (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork) — News

Ness 2020 Cancelled


full info here
https://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/ness-2020-excavation-cancelled/?fbclid=IwAR21Y2WxDGKZrpId5LfrI_7lGRvTCJapnPvlU_1ihZkCCe03Kc-oQKbpfb4

Stone of Setter (Standing Stone / Menhir) — Images

<b>Stone of Setter</b>Posted by wideford<b>Stone of Setter</b>Posted by wideford<b>Stone of Setter</b>Posted by wideford<b>Stone of Setter</b>Posted by wideford
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Unemployed and so plenty of spare time for researching contributors' questions and queries and for making corrections. Antiquarian and naturalist. Mode of transport shanks's pony. Talent unnecessary endurance. I love brochs.

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