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Sower (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork) — Images (click to view fullsize)

<b>Sower</b>Posted by wideford

Sower (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork) — Fieldnotes

Coming down the road I first thought it to be the large mound I saw first, but this is a Great War battery. Further downhill a slightly lower mound is the castle A few have proposed this a a possible broch, but it lacks the usual outline. There was a cow with calf in the field and so I contented myself with photos taken with my ultrazoom camera. Fortunately this showed me a couple of the exposures of mound material. And it appears to me that there are two levels to the mound. Probably nothing, but I was minded on of one of the mounds in the site of The Cairns up the coast at Ireland. This too had been given a military designation, that of 'Danish fort'. Whence came Hoose-ha ? Perhaps some modern fancied it as being a house platform 'house hall' ? Likely to remain an enigma forever and a day.

Sower (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork) — Miscellaneous

RCAHMS NMRS record no.HY20NE 5
Close to the shore on the north side of the Sower Road is a large unopened mound of earth and stones which the Name Book states locals called an old castle and appears on the 25" as a castle site. By 1928 it was known locally as the "Hillock of Hoose-ha" and a visit by the commission records "traces of a large indeterminate structure". Nowadays thought to be a settlement mound, it is roughly rectangular - some 24m E/W by 19m - and about 2m high. No walling has been seen but stone is exposed in places around the periphery and cairn-like material shows in two "mutilations" at the centre.

Comet Stone (Standing Stone / Menhir) — Images

<b>Comet Stone</b>Posted by wideford<b>Comet Stone</b>Posted by wideford<b>Comet Stone</b>Posted by wideford

Broch of Steiro — Miscellaneous

"Countrywoman" visited this site in the 60s; partial collapse in 1964 brought out a building in the outer wall. In 1967, a wall-chamber was revealed and she noted a structure in the nearby shore under low banks. Strong walls had been exposed a year later. The site suffered serious gale damage in 1984.
The main feature is part of the broch tower's NE wall arc standing 4' high and having a scarcement with rubble-filled alcove thought to have been access to a stair/gallery. A later wall cuts across the wall arc at the east.
RCAHMS site no. HY 51NW 10 additionally mentions a ruinous naust up against the W side and, also at the W, outbuilding traces including an edge-slab in the shoreline. Then E of the broch there is rubble covering a well-paved floor set directly on the natural.

Broch of Steiro — Images

<b>Broch of Steiro</b>Posted by wideford<b>Broch of Steiro</b>Posted by wideford<b>Broch of Steiro</b>Posted by wideford<b>Broch of Steiro</b>Posted by wideford<b>Broch of Steiro</b>Posted by wideford<b>Broch of Steiro</b>Posted by wideford<b>Broch of Steiro</b>Posted by wideford<b>Broch of Steiro</b>Posted by wideford<b>Broch of Steiro</b>Posted by wideford<b>Broch of Steiro</b>Posted by wideford<b>Broch of Steiro</b>Posted by wideford<b>Broch of Steiro</b>Posted by wideford<b>Broch of Steiro</b>Posted by wideford<b>Broch of Steiro</b>Posted by wideford<b>Broch of Steiro</b>Posted by wideford

Rowamo Cottage (Burnt Mound / Fulacht Fia) — Images

<b>Rowamo Cottage</b>Posted by wideford<b>Rowamo Cottage</b>Posted by wideford<b>Rowamo Cottage</b>Posted by wideford

Rowamo Cottage (Burnt Mound / Fulacht Fia) — Fieldnotes

Coming out of Finstown, just before the start of the Binscarth Wasdale Walk on the opposite side of the main road a farmroad goes up a slight rise and the mound is by Rowamo Cottage.
RCAHMS record no.HY31SE 16 is a burnt mound ~15m D by 1.2m ht. damaged by a ditch on the SW crossed by a fence. A small dig on the N side shows burnt material; rowamo 'heap of embers'

The Hillock (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork) — Images

<b>The Hillock</b>Posted by wideford

West Mainland — Miscellaneous

On the Ness of Brodgar website, in the first of Sigurd Towrie's article on long cairns, one such is suggested as possiby being one on Outer Holm. There is a long low hillock next to the circular remains of a mill mound, but a look on Bing Satellite holds out little hope, all I see is a few very linear features on the 'site' - pity as I often photograph the place.

South Howe (Long Cairn) — Images

<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford<b>South Howe</b>Posted by wideford

South Howe (Long Cairn) — Fieldnotes

On Rose Ness there is a structure similar to the Covenanters Memorial in Deerness, a tall beacon. This is the site of a horned cairn, ~46m long, that may be similar to the likes of the Vestrafiold cairn - a turf ridge 'tail' running to the SW not only has much stone but also several orthostats perpendicular to the length that might indicate a box construction similar to Vestrafiold's. Probable horns appear to be at the NE end, with perhaps similar traces at the other end. The 1867 beacon sits at the head end on a circular stoney platform. This foot high platform is probably modified cairn material. During construction a well preserved adult skeleton was found in the 'rubbish' and then, apart from a few bones the workers kept, put back "entombed under the refuse" (this could have been from a later period of course).
This is a much reduced mound, so could the beacon platform be the remains of a round cairn inserted like at the Head of Work horned cairn over in St.Ola ??

Toy Ness (Artificial Mound) — Images

<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
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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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