Featured: Ark of Secrets - Neolithic spirit alive in the Middle Ages

Ark of Secrets - Neolithic spirit alive in the Middle Ages

Random Image


Loughcrew Cairn T

Circles of Stone - Max Milligan

Circles of Stone - Max Milligan

Who's Online

There are currently, 277 guests and 5 members online.

You are a guest. To join in, please register for free by clicking here

Sponsors

More Choices

Contribute to our running costs
Webrings
News Feeds
Megalithic Mysteries
Our Online Shop

<< Our Photo Pages >> Westray Heritage Centre - Museum in Scotland in Orkney

Submitted by jeffrep on Friday, 06 August 2010  Page Views: 8948

MuseumsSite Name: Westray Heritage Centre
Country: Scotland County: Orkney Type: Museum
Nearest Town: Kirkwall  Nearest Village: Pierowall
Map Ref: HY43724825
Latitude: 59.316885N  Longitude: 2.990444W
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
 5 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.
 5 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

Internal Links:
External Links:

Westray Heritage Centre
Westray Heritage Centre submitted by jeffrep : Front View of the so-called "Westray Wife" (also known as the "Orkney Venus") on Display during the Summer 2010 at the Westray Heritage Centre, Westray, Orkney, Scotland. (Vote or comment on this photo)
A modest museum in Pierowall, the main village on the Orkney isle of Westray, which contains a permanent exhibition of Westray's history, flora and fauna. In addition to the permanent exhibition, each year sees a new exhibition on a specific local topic.

In the Summer of 2010, the Centre is hosting the so-called "Westray Wife," also known as the "Orkney Venus," a 5,000 year old figurine discovered last year by archaeologists working on the Historic Scotland excavation at the Links of Noltland on Westray. When found, the figurine was the only known Neolithic carving of a human form to have been found in Scotland. A second, less perfect figurine has since been found at the Links of Noltland excavation site.

Also on display at the Centre is a Neolithic spiral and lozenge carved stone discovered in a Pierowall Quarry called the Westray Stone.

Official Web Site for Westray Heritage

Note: Photos from the Westray figurine exhibition, on all summer. Also a second figurine is found on Westray!
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.


Westray Heritage Centre
Westray Heritage Centre submitted by PAB : Decorated stone on display at Westray Heritage Centre, found at the nearby Pierowall Quarry. Not the best quality photo, taken through glass, and described by Canmore as such: "Westray, Pierowall Quarry Chambered Cairn (Neolithic), Inscribed Stone(S) (Period Unknown), Roundhouse (Prehistoric), Structure (Period Unassigned) Canmore ID 2789" Photo: June 2016 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Westray Heritage Centre
Westray Heritage Centre submitted by jeffrep : Side View of the so-called "Westray Wife" (also known as the "Orkney Venus") on Display during the Summer 2010 at the Westray Heritage Centre, Westray, Orkney, Scotland. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Westray Heritage Centre
Westray Heritage Centre submitted by neolithique02 : On top of the ‘Westray Wife’ found in 2009, two other ceramic has been found including the ‘Headless Husband’ in 2010 and 2013 in the Grobust house. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Westray Heritage Centre
Westray Heritage Centre submitted by neolithique02 : The ‘Orkney Venus’ (or ‘Westray Wife’) found in 2009. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Westray Heritage Centre
Westray Heritage Centre submitted by jeffrep : The "Orkney Venus" ("Westray Wife") Exhibit during the Summer 2010 at the Westray Heritage Centre, Westray, Orkney, Scotland.

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
Click here to see more info for this site

Nearby sites

Click here to view sites on an interactive OS map

Key: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed

Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)

To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.


Turn off the page maps and other distractions

Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 817m N 11° Pierowall Quarry* Chambered Cairn (HY43894905)
 1.1km SSW 212° Curquoy, Westray Cairn (HY431473)
 1.4km NW 318° Links of Noltland* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY42804930)
 1.5km SSW 213° Knucker Hill (Westray) Chambered Cairn (HY4287547013)
 1.7km WNW 299° The Lum Head (Westray) Chambered Cairn (HY4221649107)
 2.9km ESE 105° Tofts Ness (Sanday) Cairn (HY4654547449)
 3.1km NE 43° Vere Point (Westray) Chambered Cairn (HY45845046)
 3.8km S 185° Fitty Hill (Westray) Chambered Cairn (HY43324451)
 4.6km S 183° Powdykes (Westray) Chambered Cairn (HY4343543627)
 5.8km NE 51° Knap of Howar* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY483518)
 6.3km ESE 118° East Surrigarth (Westray) Chambered Cairn (HY49214520)
 6.5km S 176° Berst Ness Ancient Village or Settlement (HY441418)
 6.5km ENE 65° St Tredwell's Chapel Stone Row / Alignment (HY497509)
 6.7km NE 48° Munkerhoose* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY48785274)
 6.8km NE 48° St Boniface's Church Hog Back Stone* Early Christian Sculptured Stone (HY48825270)
 7.8km ENE 58° Holm of Papa Westray North* Chambered Cairn (HY50445228)
 7.8km ENE 62° Holm of Papa Westray Central Chambered Cairn (HY50705185)
 8.0km ENE 63° Holm of Papa Westray South* Chambered Cairn (HY50915183)
 13.6km SE 138° Faray Chambered Cairn (HY52743797)
 14.6km SE 126° Linkertaing* Chambered Cairn (HY55393937)
 15.4km SSW 195° Wasbister* Crannog (HY395334)
 15.5km SSW 194° Bretta Ness* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY39723324)
 15.5km S 178° Faraclett Head East Cairn (HY43993271)
 15.5km S 178° Faraclett Head West Cairn (HY44003270)
 15.6km S 176° Yetnasteen* Standing Stone (Menhir) (HY447327)
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< Y Pigwn cairn 1

Bhim Betka >>

Please add your thoughts on this site

Contribute!

· NEW: I have visited
· I would like to visit
· Submit an Image
· Add a description
· Give accurate position
· Add a comment or news about this site

Lines on the Landscape, Circles from the Sky: Monuments of Neolithic Orkney

Lines on the Landscape, Circles from the Sky: Monuments of Neolithic Orkney

Sponsors

Auto-Translation (Google)

Translate from English into:

"Westray Heritage Centre" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
Go back to top of page    Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.
Re: Westray Heritage Centre by Anonymous on Tuesday, 10 October 2023
The 'Skara Brae Buddo' figurine dating to circa 2,900 – 2,400 BC was excavated from a stone bed compartment in House 3 at Skara Brae by William G. Watt in the 1850s or early 1860s. It subsequently was lost/misplaced before being rediscovered in storage in Stromness Museum in 2016 in a box of unlabelled artefacts which had been returned to Orkney in the 1930s from the National Museums of Scotland.
[ Reply to This ]

Second figurine found on Westray, Orkney by Andy B on Saturday, 07 August 2010
(User Info | Send a Message)
Figurine found on Orkney could shed new light on life in 2500BC

t may turn out to be nothing more than a discarded and forgotten children’s toy, but a prehistoric clay figurine could be one of the most important archaeological finds in Scotland for years.

A Neolithic figurine has been discovered on Westray, in the Orkney Islands, almost a year since the celebrated Orkney Venus was discovered on the same islands.

The Orkney Venus figurine is the earliest carving of a human figure found in Scotland.

The Wife of Westray, as it became known, measures just 3.5cm by 3cm and is the only known Neolithic carving of a human form to have been discovered in Scotland Historic Scotland said a second, headless figurine has been discovered by archaeologists at the Links of Noltland dig on Westray.

The new figure is the same size and shape as the original sandstone Venus figurine but is made of clay and is missing its head.

The new figurine was discovered by archaeologist Sean Rice.

More, with a photo of the little figure in the Herald
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/figurine-found-on-orkney-could-shed-new-light-on-life-in-2500bc-1.1042095
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Westray Heritage Centre by motist on Friday, 06 August 2010
(User Info | Send a Message)
A second Venus found in Orkney as archeologists create history

A PARTNER has been found for a rare 4,500-year-old Neolithic figurine discovered at an archaeological dig site on a remote Scottish island.
The second carved figure was unearthed just 100 feet from the spot in Westray, Orkney, where the artefact dubbed the Orkney Venus was found last year.

The new figurine is headless and made of fired clay rather than sandstone. But archaeologists sa
ADVERTISEMENT y it bears a striking resemblance to the original.

The Orkney Venus was the earliest carving of a human figure found in Scotland.

It is believed both date back to 2,600 BC, when a Neolithic village existed at the dig site at the Links of Noltland in Westray.

Experts believe the figurines could have been depictions of deities, and the discovery of a second adds weight to the theory that they could have been kept in the home by our early ancestors.

The latest find was discovered outside the excavated ruins of a Neolithic house. Two pieces were discovered, which have been glued together by specialists.

Without its head it stands just one and a half inches tall.

A thumb-shaped indentation at the top of the body shows where the head had been attached.

Clay balls found near the spot could have been used as heads for the figurines, archaeologists believe.

The second figurine has more distinct carvings than the original, probably made by a sharp bone point.

A square carving on the front, possibly depicting a tunic, is divided into triangles. A centrally punched hole could represent the figure's belly button.

It was found by archaeologist Sean Rice, working for Historic Scotland's contractor EASE Archaeology .

Peter Yeoman, head of cultural resources at Historic Scotland, said: "It's difficult to speculate on the precise function or meaning of these figurines.

"They could even be children's toys."

However, he said similar findings in other European countries are generally recognised as images of deities, including some "well-endowed" female figurines that were clearly fertility objects.

"This being the case, the figurines start to allow us to consider the spiritual life of the Nortland families more than 4,000 years ago, possibly with the earliest evidence we have of worship being channelled through physical representations of spirits or gods," he said.

Until now, he said, it had only been known that our early ancestors in Scotland had worshipped deities at major monuments.

"This suggests perhaps they did not just represent their belief system on the grand scale, but also they had them in the home," he said.

Today the exposed spot has been damaged by wind erosion, putting its archaeological heritage at risk of being destroyed.



more:

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/A-second-Venus-found-in.6426346.jp
[ Reply to This ]

Your Name: Anonymous [ Register Now ]
Subject:


Add your comment or contribution to this page. Spam or offensive posts are deleted immediately, don't even bother

<<< What is five plus one as a number? (Please type the answer to this question in the little box on the left)
You can also embed videos and other things. For Youtube please copy and paste the 'embed code'.
For Google Street View please include Street View in the text.
Create a web link like this: <a href="https://www.megalithic.co.uk">This is a link</a>  

Allowed HTML is:
<p> <b> <i> <a> <img> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <tt> <li> <ol> <ul> <object> <param> <embed> <iframe>
We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.