wideford

NMRS record no HY33SE 13 – the 1880 Namebook confusingly names this as the loch chapel site as well as Bretta Ness, with finds of deer remains and coins and reference to possible earlier building. In 1912 “The Orcadian” tells us that this island was still connected to the west shoreline by the remains of a bridge (then a foot underwater) with a fault half-way. Later underwater features were observed where it met the shore but these are apparently buried now. A 1972 report tells us that the stepping stones start midway along the north-west side of a ?modern wall on the island and continued visibly in that direction for some thirty metres. This wall running around the island is sub-divided into two unequal enclosures, but salmonberry hides any internal remains there might be. There may be traces of sections of an earlier wall a metre or two outside this, and just above the waterline walling has been noted.

RCAHMS record no. HY42N W15 is a ten-foot high turf-covered broch mound, apparently excavated (slight depression on summit), with extensive outbuildings to the south showing as many areas of exposed stonework. Thirty metres from the tower there is a shingle beach rather than the usual rocky Rousay shore, with further archaeology in the shore banks themselves . A rough, unploughable section of the next field west continues the five-foot high broad platform on which the broch sits. An exposed inner broch wall-section a yard long and a foot high has been extrapolated to give a diameter of 30-33’ (with walls at least 10-12’ thick) and its platform extends about two-hundred feet from the fieldwall. The whole broch is bounded at the west by a curving ditch 3-4m wide by 2.2m deep, on whose inner lip a possible fortification is indicated by a stone wall. And an outer wall can be read from more stonework west of the ditch itself.

As NMRS record number HY31NE 14 only gives a grid reference of HY3918 perhaps this was part of a barrow cemetery with the Oyce of Isbister mounds, which are only some quarter of a mile from the mill.

In 1858 by James Muir, tenant of Isbister mill and farm, found several cists close to his house. The largest was 2’3” wide, with the SW side 5’8” long and that on the NE 4’8” long. To help prevent the ingress of water the depth was greater on the longer side (2’10” as against 2’7” max) with a half-an-inch of gravel on the level bottom. A flexed skeleton lay on its RH side at the NW end and another at the opposite end. Petrie noticed what looked to be outline traces of a large barrow in the surrounding ground. Another cist, with a similarly slanted lid and found about 5’ to the SW held the skeleton of a woman face down. It was only 1’10” wide by 3’ long and deep. The skull was at the ESE, a few bones near the middle and a heap of burnt ones a foot from the other end. Later a third cist a mere foot square was found 5/6’ from the SE end of the second cist and had a pile of burnt bone fragments in the centre. NMRS record number HY31NE 14 only gives a grid reference of HY3918.
The Oyce of Isbister mounds (NMRS record number HY31NE 8) are only about a quarter of a mile from the mill. In 1946 apart from a grave mound these ranged from about 15’ to some 21’D, with a maximum height of 3’ (though there was a 6’ high one [E] at HY39011810 it is most likely natural). The OS in 1966 give three as probable barrows (A at HY39021802, B at HY39001802, C at HY38981801) and three probable burnt mounds (D at HY39001808, F at HY39001811, G at HY39001813) plus the natural one (E at HY39011810). On the other hand in 1979 Hedges gives 4 small burnt mounds (on the E bank of a burn emptying into a “lagoon”) 60m from twa earthen mounds lying atop slightly raised land. But I suspect his numbers come from his desire to keep the two kinds physically seperate. The largest mound, A, was 5’ high. is composed of earth with small stones, and contains a cist at least 3’6” long (whose east end is missing). This was 45’ across in 1946, but in 1966 the OS found its measurements to be roughly 14m E/W by 12m N/S.

The felsite may be significant as tools were mde from this in prehistory

On the mainland or in England there would be fewer doubters of its antiquity, we just have so many candidates to accept more than a few now! But perhaps the antiquarians thought it might be more than a standing stone, because some have seen more stones in the depression in which it sits. I assume that like the Loch of Tankerness this lochan’s borders have increased since at least the Bronze Age, and there are marshy areas abouts. Stone circles aside not a few of our acknowledged standing stones have turned out to be stood on, or the remains of, cairns [e.g. Stanerandy] or tombs [e.g. Redland North]. On a small promontory a few hundred metres north of Kirbuster are the remains of a prehistoric settlement which produced Iron Age tools etc – the Knowe of Nesthouse, HY22NE 6 at HY27942568, is [IIRC] near a small ‘caravan park’.