Hurkisgarth

Also known as:
Hurkis-garth
Nearest town:
Stromness (8km SSE)
OS reference:
HY254177
OS sheet:
6
Latitude:
59° 2' 24.05 N
Longitude:
3° 18' 0.56 W
Added to TMA by

Articles

Hurkisgarth

C
CARL Jul 16, 2012

Visited 6.6.12

The Barrow is visible from the road as a low mound.

I would put its height at only about 1 metre at most.

It is certainly now looks lower than when last visited.

Hurkisgarth

wideford
wideford Sep 29, 2004

At the lower end of the Loch of Skaill take the B9055, the road on which you see a phonebox against a house. The site is at the far roadside corner of the field past this. A modest and assuming earthen barrow. Once upon a time a cist was found here. In 1946 it was no longer, but RCAHMS reported a tradition of a chambered structure. In 1967 it was believed this roughly circular mound could well be it. If so it looks as if several stones from the chamber/s have been re-used as there are several over half a metre in the drystane wall alongside that are very out-of-place.
The mound is about 15m across and 1.2m high. RCAHMS also describe it as flat-topped, but this is a relative term. Like most earthen mounds it has a bland covering of grass. Alas I did not walk upon it as a tall ‘Orkney gate’ stood in my way. Not photogenic in itself, it commands a broad panoramic view of the Sandwick countryside about as you can tell even from the roadside.
This ‘dominion’ includes several lochs and many sites of various Ages, including well-known tumuli and tombs. It must surely have been a site of some importance due to these vistas, only the hills above the Loch of Skaill (Kier Fiold and Sand Fiold) overlooking blocking the view somewhat – though you can still see Skaill House and everything to its left from here .

Miscellaneous

Hurkisgarth
Round Barrow(s)
wideford
wideford Jul 28, 2005

Chambered structure given two possible locations by NMRS – HY21NE 43 at HY25451770 (as fieldnotes, cist now gone and barrow) and HY21NE 44 at 2523 1755 (indeterminate structures a.k.a. Howans where were well and 2 “ancient Broughs” not on present-day map). O.N.B. seems to confirm former.

Topics

Calling Wideford 4
Kammer
Kammer
Jul 2005

Sites within 20km of Hurkisgarth

Like all websites everywhere, we use cookies.