Description

The monument is a multi-period site comprising a burial cairn dating probably to the Bronze Age (between about 2000 and 800 BC), and a later settlement dating probably to the Iron Age (between about 800 BC and 500 AD). The monument is situated at the SE edge of a sheltered bay at Wood Wick. It lies immediately adjacent to the coast, at around 10m above sea level, and has wide views to the E across Gairsay Sound. The monument was originally scheduled in 1936, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

The settlement is visible as a roughly oval, grass-covered mound measuring around 50m in diameter and standing up to 5m high. Two passageways are visible leading into the mound. The W passage is around 5m long and leads to two sub-rectangular chambers, one larger than the other; the floor level of the smaller one is lower than that of the passageway and reached by two steps. Another entrance on the N side reveals a slightly curving passageway extending about 10m; and exploratory excavation from the E towards the top of the mound exposed walling which may indicate that other passages and chambers are present. RCAHMS recorded a third entrance to the SE, and the remains of a hearth on the seashore near the N entrance. The cairn is situated 90m ESE of the settlement mound and comprises a grass-covered stony mound measuring approximately 12m in diameter and standing up to 1m high.

The scheduled area is irregular on plan. It includes the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground elements of a field dyke and post-and-wire fences to allow for their maintenance.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant contribution to our understanding of the past, particularly Iron Age settlement in Orkney. The several entrance passageways and chambers indicate that the mound contains a complex series of structures, which may have been used for storage (styled by Davidson and Henshall as 'a variant souterrain'). It has the potential to improve our understanding of different structural types and construction techniques,  as well as changes in settlement types over time, particularly when compared with other broadly contemporary settlement types across Orkney, notably brochs. The monument also has the potential to inform our understanding of the design and construction of prehistoric burial monuments, and the changing nature of belief systems and burial practices in Bronze Age Orkney. The multi-period nature of the site, the confirmed survival of complex remains, and the presence of an earlier burial monument alongside a later settlement, make this a particularly interesting and important archaeological site, which can tell us about life and death in prehistoric Orkney. The loss of the monument would significantly diminish our ability to appreciate and understand the domestic architecture, settlement and society of Iron Age Orkney, and earlier burial practices and beliefs during prehistory.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

Other informationRCAHMS records the site as HY32SE 6.

References

Fraser, J 1928 'The antiquities of Rendall Parish', Proc Orkney Antiq Soc 6, 70

RCAHMS 1946, The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Twelfth report with an inventory of the ancient monuments of Orkney and Shetland, 3v, Edinburgh, 82, no 278.

Canmore

https://canmore.org.uk/site/2228/
https://canmore.org.uk/site/2245/

Source: Historic Environment Scotland