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<< Our Photo Pages >> Bretta Ness - Ancient Village or Settlement in Scotland in Orkney

Submitted by howar on Wednesday, 28 November 2012  Page Views: 2209

Multi-periodSite Name: Bretta Ness Alternative Name: Loch of Wasbiter
Country: Scotland County: Orkney Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
 Nearest Village: Tingwall
Map Ref: HY39723324
Latitude: 59.181565N  Longitude: 3.05652W
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
2 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
5 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
5

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Bretta Ness
Bretta Ness submitted by howar : Bretta Ness promontory in Loch of Wasbister with Saviskaill farm top left and the bay behind (Vote or comment on this photo)
Ancient Village or Settlement in Orkney

RCAHMS record no. HY33SE 12, this gently mounded promontory is by tradition the site of a kirk - the 1880 Name Book says the stones from it were removed to the loch margins. It is almost completely artificial, but to my mind the rise in water levels makes it unlikely to have been an isolated crannog as the neck would have been even broader in prehistory, more like a broch with causeway I'd hazard.

A now underwater dump of stone (whether natural slabs or no is not settled) is overlain by a masonry platform and then the whole covered by a mound 1.7m in height and ~30mD. This site has been used since at least Pictish times, possibly metalworking later from what I've read (I'm minded on the Knowe of Verron in Sandwick). Exploratory digs found an E/W line of wall-footings with building rubble and lime plaster that could be taken for chapel remains when coupled with the alignment. Over at the W end the site's first use may be signified by thick circular walls (aerial photography has also revealed a weed-covered feature in the loch west of Bretta Ness). Then came what sound like beehive cells,. Subsequent buildings left very scant remains because of frequent robbing, but due to later re-use as part of a kiln setup a flagged floor and walls built into the earlier rubble did survive.
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Bretta Ness
Bretta Ness submitted by PAB : As different names are used sometimes, I thought this annotated photo might be useful. Bretta Ness is the name used by Canmore for the small projection at the east end of the loch. The island at the western end is called The Burrian by Canmore, but simply Wasbister on the Portal, whereas Wasbister is actually the name of the loch itself. June 2016 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Bretta Ness
Bretta Ness submitted by PAB : The Archaeological Notes for Bretta Ness on Canmore do not offer a definitive period or purpose for this small feature off the eastern edge of the Loch of Wasbister. Follow the link in the Comments below to read further.... It was however significant enough to catch my attention when driving down towards the loch, so I took some photos intending to follow it up. June 2016 (Vote or comment on this photo)

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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
HY3933 : The Burrian in Loch Wasbister by Dave Napier
by Dave Napier
©2011(licence)
HY3933 : Wasbister Loch on Rousay by s allison
by s allison
©2005(licence)
HY3933 : Neglected farm buildings as Saviskaill, Rousay by Dave Napier
by Dave Napier
©2011(licence)
HY3933 : Loch of Wasbister shoreline by David Medcalf
by David Medcalf
©2023(licence)
HY4033 : Old farm buildings at Saviskaill by Gordon Hatton
by Gordon Hatton
©2021(licence)

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 271m NW 305° Wasbister* Crannog (HY395334)
 2.5km WSW 244° Knowe of Dale* Misc. Earthwork (HY37423217)
 2.8km SE 126° Knowe of Craie* Chambered Cairn (HY41963153)
 3.6km SW 223° Midhowe Broch* Broch or Nuraghe (HY372306)
 3.7km SW 226° North Howe Broch* Broch or Nuraghe (HY3705130722)
 3.7km SW 222° Midhowe Chambered Cairn* Chambered Cairn (HY37223051)
 4.1km E 99° Bigland Round* Chambered Cairn (HY438325)
 4.2km SSW 211° Knowe of Swandro* Chambered Cairn (HY37532966)
 4.2km SSW 214° Knowe of Rowiegar* Chambered Cairn (HY37332978)
 4.5km SSW 196° Westness Chambererd Tomb* Chambered Tomb (HY38402898)
 5.0km E 95° Yetnasteen* Standing Stone (Menhir) (HY447327)
 5.0km SE 145° Tammaskirk* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY42502907)
 5.2km S 185° Viera Lodge Broch or Nuraghe (HY392281)
 5.2km S 176° Knowe of Ramsay* Chambered Cairn (HY40042800)
 5.3km S 177° Knowe of Lairo* Chambered Cairn (HY39922796)
 5.3km S 171° Knowe of Yarso* Chambered Cairn (HY40482795)
 5.6km E 100° Scockness* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY45263214)
 5.8km S 172° Langstane (Orkney)* Standing Stone (Menhir) (HY404275)
 5.8km S 176° Knowe of Burrian (Frotoft)* Broch or Nuraghe (HY40062745)
 5.9km SSE 162° Blackhammer* Chambered Tomb (HY41422761)
 6.3km SSE 163° Knowe of Hunclett* Broch or Nuraghe (HY41442722)
 6.3km SSE 152° Taversoe Tuick* Chambered Cairn (HY42572761)
 6.6km SSW 193° Aikerness Class I Pictish Symbol Stone (HY38182685)
 6.6km SSW 193° Gurness* Broch or Nuraghe (HY3818926842)
 6.7km SE 140° Cubbie Roo's Burden* Chambered Cairn (HY43932800)
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Re: Bretta Ness by PAB on Monday, 11 January 2021
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Bretta Ness, Rousay

For further information, check out Canmore



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