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<< Our Photo Pages >> The Cairns Windwick Bay - Broch or Nuraghe in Scotland in Orkney

Submitted by Runemage on Tuesday, 07 December 2021  Page Views: 10732

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: The Cairns Windwick Bay
Country: Scotland County: Orkney Type: Broch or Nuraghe
Nearest Town: South Ronaldsay Island
Map Ref: ND4578987256
Latitude: 58.769486N  Longitude: 2.93904W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 3 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 4

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The Cairns Windwick Bay
The Cairns Windwick Bay submitted by dodomad : The excavations at The Cairns are part of an archaeological research project investigating the later prehistory of the landscape around Windwick, on the island of South Ronaldsay, Orkney. Work at The Cairns has been taking place since 2006, with the investigation now focusing on the excavation of a large Atlantic Roundhouse, or broch, and associated structures from various phases through the... (Vote or comment on this photo)
The Cairns overlooking Windiwick Bay on South Ronaldsay, Orkney have proved more of a puzzle than usual for the hardy archaeologists. Excavation has shown the sites is a broch but with lots still to discover.

As ever, with every find comes a series of questions that will only be answered by painstaking excavation and interpretation. That could take quite some time. One of the more unusual pieces unearthed was the small carved Cairns Head, thought to have been placed during a ritual closure of the site

Photo credit: Martin Carruthers

See the comments below for links to daily updates from past excavations at The Cairns excavations, also with video.

Note: UHI Archaeology Institute’s Brochtoberfest talks are available to watch online. More in the comments on our page
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The Cairns Windwick Bay
The Cairns Windwick Bay submitted by mgts24 : The last day of the 2016 excavation season, I managed to get low enough to isolate these orthostats—in the middle of The Cairns Broch— against the sky. (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

The Cairns Windwick Bay
The Cairns Windwick Bay submitted by dodomad : Working inside the broch today (July 3rd 2018) (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Cairns Windwick Bay
The Cairns Windwick Bay submitted by tinoc : Some of The Cairns excavation team at work on the outside of the broch wall. Photo credit: Martin Carruthers (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
ND4587 : The side of The Brough by Peter Church
by Peter Church
©2013(licence)
ND4587 : Not quite a stack by Graeme Smith
by Graeme Smith
©2012(licence)
ND4587 : Cliffs at Windwick by Ian Balcombe
by Ian Balcombe
©2015(licence)
ND4587 : Rocks off Wind Wick Beach by Graeme Smith
by Graeme Smith
©2012(licence)
ND4587 : Cliff Path by Anne Burgess
by Anne Burgess
©2018(licence)

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 1.9km NNE 21° Stews* Standing Stone (Menhir) (ND465890)
 2.9km NW 304° Weems Castle Broch or Nuraghe (ND434889)
 3.0km SSE 155° Isbister: Tomb Of The Eagles* Chambered Cairn (ND47048449)
 3.2km SSE 166° Liddel 2 Burnt Mound Ancient Village or Settlement (ND46498416)
 3.2km SSE 167° Isbister: Bronze Age House* Ancient Village or Settlement (ND46468411)
 3.2km SSE 158° Duni Geo* Long Barrow (ND46958425)
 3.2km NW 315° Clouduhall Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (ND43538957)
 3.3km NW 315° Clouduhall Cairn* Round Cairn (ND43498958)
 3.5km SSW 210° Ladykirk Stone* Rock Art (ND44008428)
 3.5km S 172° Tomb of the Eagles Museum Museum (ND4619783807)
 3.8km NNE 18° Kirkhouse* Round Cairn (ND470909)
 3.9km S 179° Banks Chambered Tomb* Chambered Cairn (ND45808339)
 4.2km NNE 21° Kirk Ness* Round Cairn (ND47389117)
 4.3km NNE 21° Kirk Ness Dyke* Ancient Village or Settlement (ND474912)
 4.3km NNE 14° Eastside* Standing Stone (Menhir) (ND469914)
 5.2km NW 306° Harra Brough* Broch or Nuraghe (ND41579038)
 5.7km NNW 337° Oyce of Quindry* Standing Stone (Menhir) (ND436925)
 6.7km NNW 337° The Wart* Chambered Cairn (ND433935)
 7.5km NNW 333° Howe of Hoxa* Broch or Nuraghe (ND425940)
 7.5km NNW 333° Little Howe of Hoxa* Ancient Village or Settlement (ND4243694026)
 7.5km NNW 333° Little Howe of Hoxa* Ancient Village or Settlement (ND42439403)
 8.5km NNE 18° Kyelittle* Broch or Nuraghe (ND485953)
 9.8km NNE 19° St Lawrence's Church* Broch or Nuraghe (ND4917896425)
 11.6km W 279° Cantick Head Bowl Barrow Round Barrow(s) (ND34318915)
 11.7km W 281° Outer Green Hill Broch Chambered Cairn (ND34258958)
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"The Cairns Windwick Bay" | Login/Create an Account | 16 News and Comments
  
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Cairns 2022 dig to be open to the public by Andy B on Tuesday, 10 May 2022
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This summer’s excavation at The Cairns will be open to the public. Excavation resumes at the Iron Age site in South Ronaldsay on June 13th 2022, and runs until July 8. Over that period visitors are welcome between 10am and 4pm on weekdays. There is a special open day scheduled for Friday, July 1.
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UHI Archaeology Institute’s Brochtoberfest talks available to watch online by Andy B on Saturday, 27 November 2021
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The four University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute talks featured in the fifth annual Orkney Archaeology Society Brochtoberfest are now available to view online.

The annual event features daily talks and events focused on the Caithness, Shetland and Orkney Iron Age – on subjects ranging from textiles to recent archaeological discoveries.

To view this year’s talks – delivered by institute lecturers and students – click on the links below:

Martin Carruthers: A Haunted House – Dealing with the Dead at the End of the Cairns Broch
https://orkneyarchaeologysociety.org.uk/event/brochtoberfest-a-haunted-house/

Jenny Murray: Cultivating the Divine – Iron Age Ritual deposition of agricultural equipment in Shetland Peat Bogs
https://orkneyarchaeologysociety.org.uk/event/brochtoberfest-cultivating-the-divine/

Amber Rivers: Changing the narrative about Scottish Iron Age textile production
https://orkneyarchaeologysociety.org.uk/event/brochtoberfest-spinning-a-yarn/

Holly Young: What the shell is happening? Examining the marine mollusc assemblage from the Cairns broch
https://orkneyarchaeologysociety.org.uk/event/brochtoberfest-what-the-shell-is-happening/
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The Life and Times of The Cairns free online talk, Wednesday, April 28th by Andy B on Thursday, 08 April 2021
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‘The Life and Times of The Cairns’ – free online lecture

The excavation at the Iron Age site at The Cairns, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, is the subject of the next talk hosted by the Orkney Archaeology Society.

The Life and Times of The Cairns : A Thousand Years of living at a Broch will be given by University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute lecturer Martin Carruthers, who is, of course, the excavation director.

The free online talk is on Wednesday, April 28, at 7pm (BST).

To book a place, click here.
https://orkneyarchaeologysociety.org.uk/event/on-line-talk-the-life-and-times-of-the-cairns/

Source:
https://archaeologyorkney.com/2021/04/08/the-life-and-times-of-the-cairns-free-online-lecture/
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Re: Latest news on The Cairns, South Ronaldsay, Orkney by AngieLake on Thursday, 18 March 2021
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Iron Age 'seafood buffet' that fed wedding or funeral guests with more than 18,000 pieces of shellfish cooked in a massive pit is discovered in Scotland

Researchers in Scotland dug up thousands of shells eaten in a 5th-century feast
Little is known about the Picts, who inhabited the region until the 10th century
The immense amount of food suggests a celebration of great importance
Most cooking in this period was done indoors within fairly small houses
After being eaten, the shells were carefully returned to the pit they cooked in
The scale of the meal and its unique menu suggest a feast of great importance

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9372687/Iron-Age-seafood-buffet-fed-wedding-funeral-guests-discovered-Scotland.html
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Two thousand y-o wooden bowl discovered in underground chamber beneath broch site by Andy B on Thursday, 12 July 2018
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Archaeologists from the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute were astonished last week when they unearthed a two thousand year old wooden bowl from an underground chamber beneath The Cairns Broch, South Ronaldsay in Orkney.
The vessel itself is the oldest wooden object yet found in Orkney and will give the team from the UHI Archaeology Institute a unique insight into life in an Iron Age broch in Northern Scotland.

More here
https://archaeologyorkney.com/2018/07/12/two-thousand-year-old-wooden-bowl-discovered-in-underground-chamber-beneath-broch-site/
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    Re: Two thousand y-o wooden bowl discovered in underground chamber beneath broch site by Runemage on Friday, 13 July 2018
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    The last photo on that blog post shows the steep steps down to the "well". They are very similar to the ones in Minehowe. So narrow and steep.

    From the blog linked to above:-

    "Traditionally, these structures have been termed wells by generations of archaeologists, however, there is reason to doubt that these underground structures were straightforward sources and receptacles of everyday drinking water. Their difficulty of access, with constricted entrances and the steepness of their staircases, have raised doubts about their function in recent years, and the volume of water found in the structures is seldom sufficient to have made much contribution to the needs of the broch community and their livestock."
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Daily updates from The Cairns excavations, with video updates by Andy B on Tuesday, 03 July 2018
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Daily updates from The Cairns excavations are being posted here
https://archaeologyorkney.com/ and video updates are being posted here
https://www.facebook.com/UHIArchaeology/

Martin Carruthers, Site Director at The Cairns excavation and lecturer at the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute continues the exciting story of the dig as it enters week three:

Today I thought I’d discuss what we hope to achieve in the next half of the project season.

We will carry on with the broch and the work of teasing out the soil floors in the building. It is after all one of the main elements of the site and certainly one of the important contributions that we hope that the project can make; helping us to understand the complex, changing use and lives of brochs. We hope to be able to reach some of the earlier floors within the building. Rick’s team have been doing great work here in arduously sampling the floors on various grid patterns to keep spatial control of all the findings and the environmental and geochemical samples. The hearth in the western area of the broch looks likely to be a lengthy series of hearths, one laid out on top of another!

More at
https://archaeologyorkney.com/2018/07/03/the-cairns-day-eleven-2018/

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The Cairns Day Twenty. The Last Post. 2017 by Andy B on Monday, 10 July 2017
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The Cairns Day Twenty. The Last Post. 2017

Well we have reached the end of the excavation season at The Cairns. Let’s review what we set out to do and what was achieved.

https://archaeologyorkney.com/2017/07/10/the-cairns-day-twenty-the-last-post-2017/
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New live blog for The Cairns Excavations 2017 by Andy B on Wednesday, 14 June 2017
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Today (Monday) was day 1 of the new season of excavations at Windwick Bay, South Ronaldsay, Orkney.

As we delve further, and more intensively, into the floor deposits of the massive monumental roundhouse we hope to continue to build a picture of life inside this imposing structure and the range of activities that went on inside. The second area is so-called Trench Q, which lies to the north and east of the broch, and where we expect to reveal more of the extramural complex of buildings that lies around the broch. Essentially we think this area represents a village, contemporary with the occupation of the broch.

Thirdly, but by no means least, we intend to fully excavate the underground souterrain or earthhouse (Structure F), which lies outside the broch entrance and dates to the period immediately after the broch was abandoned and filled in with rubble

We have a fairly large team of diggers and over the next four weeks they will be providing daily updates giving you regular insights into our progress and the wonderful finds that the site has to offer.

Follow the Live Blog at https://archaeologyorkney.com
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Next FMSG Lecture: A broch in Orkney with Martin Carruthers - 4th April, Edinburgh by Andy B on Friday, 24 March 2017
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The next lecture in the 2016 – 2017 First Millennia Studies Group seminar series is on the 4th April 2017

Martin Carruthers: The Life, Death and After-life of a broch. Excavations at The Cairns, Orkney

As usual, the lecture will be at 6:00pm in the Teviot Lecture Theatre in the Archaeology Department, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Edinburgh.

https://firstmillennia.wordpress.com/2017/03/24/next-fmsg-lecture-a-broch-in-orkney/
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Video: Every Stone has a Story - the Scarcement Level at The Cairns by Andy B on Tuesday, 31 January 2017
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It doesn't matter how many times you visit an archaeology excavation such as The Cairns, there is always something new to see. As part of the pre-season planning, Martin Carruthers Site Director and team visited The Cairns dig site overlooking Windwick Bay.

The site is in good order, despite the ravages of several winter storms, and while clambering over the earth mounds surrounding the site, Martin stopped and pointed out an assemblage of large, worked stones.

Initially, the stones had formed one side of a passageway in one of the later Iron Age buildings on the site. When the blocks were examined closely the archaeologists realised that they were looking at worked stone that would have formed a scarcement level in the broch structure - before re-use in the later Iron Age building.

A scarcement level is in effect a line of massive blocks that were built into the inner wall face of a structure. Their sole function was to hold up timbers that would, in turn, hold up a wooden floor.

View the photos and more at
https://archaeologyorkney.com/2017/01/31/every-stone-has-a-story-the-scarcement-level-at-the-cairns/

Martin explains in this video clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzsc5ICq2AQ&w=480&h=270
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    Whale Tooth and Metal Working at The Cairns by Andy B on Wednesday, 01 February 2017
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    Masters student Jim Bright is working with some of the objects unearthed at the site. He is investigating the Iron Age landscape in Orkney and has created 3D images of objects found at the site for his ongoing research. One of the fascinating objects he is working on was found during last year's excavation: a 6cm long whale tooth. The whale tooth was found in a context associated with metalworking in one of the trenches at The Cairns. Whale-tooth is fairly often used in the production of quite complex composite items during the Iron Age, such as pommels or hilt guards for iron blades

    More at
    http://archaeologyorkney.com/2017/02/01/whale-tooth-and-metal-working-at-the-cairns/
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Student Research Piecing Together Life at The Cairns by Andy B on Friday, 20 January 2017
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Work does not stop when the excavations are covered over for the winter. The all important post-excavation work continues.

Postgraduates and undergraduates studying at the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute have the opportunity to work on exciting material from the summer’s excavations as part of their studies.

Kai Wallace, a fourth-year student studying BA (Hons) Archaeology at Perth College UHI, has come up to Orkney to work on bone assemblages recovered from The Cairns this summer. This important research work will form the basis for his dissertation on animal bone groupings in Iron Age Orkney.

Unusually there is little evidence for complete articulated bone assemblages in Iron Age Orkney. Unlike England and the Western Isles, where animal burials are common, most animal bone remains are found disarticulated with little sign of deliberate deposition such as ritual activity.

However recent discoveries at The Cairns, including the discovery of a human jawbone and whalebone vessel, point to a highly ritualistic culture. So why is there no real evidence for articulated (joined up) bones in Iron Age Orkney?

The reasons behind this could be varied and could be due to weathering, erosion or the fact that the various bones recovered have not been recognised as part of the same animal. Kai is re-examining a sample of the animal bones unearthed at The Cairns and is piecing together bones that may have been part of the same animal. This requires patience and a knowledge of animal anatomy in addition to archaeological skills, but with the help of Dr Ingrid Mainland, Kai is making progress in this giant sized jigsaw puzzle!

Already an articulated assemblage, discovered lying on top of the capping stone of the broch ‘well’, has been identified as the backbone of a sheep and a series of red deer bones look as if they may be part of one animal that was placed with its head tucked under its body.

Kai’s research is beginning to piece together the story of these bones and add more detail to the way of life of the people of The Cairns 2000 years ago.

Read more at
https://archaeologyorkney.com/2017/01/20/student-research-piecing-together-life-at-the-cairns/
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Earth-house builders were linking to their past - 2,000 years ago by Andy B on Tuesday, 27 August 2013
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Sigurd Towrie writes: Another section of The Cairns site is highlighting an intriguing element of Iron Age religion, politics or both.

As reported previously, Martin suspects that, in the Iron Age, the broch might have been the focus of the whole Windwick Bay area – an importance that later Iron Age settlement which was built upon the site perhaps sought to exploit.

One of these structures is an underground earth-house — or souterrain — that was found incorporated into the entrance of the abandoned broch.

More at
http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/2013/07/31/earth-house-builders-were-linking-to-their-past-2000-years-ago/
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Dig hints at early fish processing inside broch site by Andy B on Tuesday, 27 August 2013
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Sigurd Towrie writes: Six years ago, viewing a massive pile of rubble in a field in South Ronaldsay, I raised an eyebrow and wondered how it could be possible to unpick the story of what appeared to be a large broch-like structure.

But another four-week excavation at The Cairns came to a close last month, and our understanding of the enigmatic Iron Age site has come on in leaps and bounds – although, as is often the case, the site has raised just as many questions as answers.

In charge again this year was Orkney College UHI lecturer Martin Carruthers, whose enthusiasm for the project continues to be infectious.

A tour of the dig site highlighted just how far the archaeologists have come in their understanding of a highly complex series of structures, dating from the Iron Age right through to the arrival of the vikings.

When it was first uncovered, the massive broch was found to have been filled to the top with rubble — detritus that had to be painstakingly recorded and removed to allow access to the layers of occupation.

But the work is paying dividends and, this year, for the first time, the experts had the chance to excavate one of the last phases of occupation inside the structure.

Martin explained: “This year, we’ve been working on a section of the interior of the broch, and have now reached the occupation layers that lie directly beneath the lowest layer of substantial rubble that filled the structure.

“We managed to get to within reaching distance of the upper occupation deposits last season, so this year we’ve carried on and have been working on the inside, making our way down through alternate layers of rough, flagstone pavements and soft, clay floor levels and charcoal-rich levels.

“We’re still some way off the primary occupation level — that is, the floor surfaces used by the original inhabitants of the structure — but we’re doing a very careful job, because one of the major things we want to do is fully understand the entire biography of the inside of the broch. To do this, we have to be extremely sensitive to every single occupation episode.”

But even though the diggers have reached what would have been the last phase of the broch’s life, the results have been surprising.

Of particular interest is the discovery that there seems to have been some fairly intensive handling and processing of fish — something that, until now, has been missing from Iron Age sites. In fact, due to the lack of evidence, it has long been assumed that fishing was not a major concern during the period.

Read more at Orkneyjar
http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/2013/07/31/a-window-into-iron-age-south-ronaldsay/
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