Category: Nature

The Knowes of Trotty – I actually “found” them while looking for a nice little walk in Orkney. And taking a little hike to a Bronze Age cemetery really sounded intriguing. I circled around them first as I couldn´t find the starting point for the walk, but in the end I found the tiny parking (on the other side than I thought it was) and was on my way to explore the Knowes of Trotty.

The Knowes of Trotty are found tucked away in the heart of the parish of Harray, in Orkney’s West Mainland. What might look like a patch of land with small hillocks on it is actually one of the largest Bronze Age cemeteries in the UK, featuring up to 16 burial mounds, or barrows. (Orkney.com)

First excavated in the mid 19th century the mounds are believed to be 4000 years old, today they might not be looking that impressive due to erosion, but more than 4000 years ago they would have been visible from all around.

The barrows are stone burial cists covered with a stone cairn and earth, some marked with standing stones. (Orkney.com)

It is a lovely walk through marshland with some little wooden bridges going over wet areas, just hearing birds chirping.

When the biggest mound was opened in the 19th century some golden artefacts from the Bronze Age, which today are on display in the National Museum in Edinburgh.

In 2005, around 150 years after the opening of the cist, archaeologists came back to the Knowes of Trotty and opened the mounds again. They found remains from their Victorian colleagues and had a hard time reconstructing how the barrow originally looked like.

But they were still able to reconstruct the original shape.

The barrow had also been raised on top of a deliberately sculpted, natural mound, presumably to increase its height and enhance the visual effect. There is no doubt the burial monument would have been striking in the landscape – appearing as a conical mound on top of an earthen platform. (NessofBrodgar.co.uk)

Besides bone fragments also some of the lost beads were found.

As well as the gold, the re-excavation produced another five triangular amber beads and a rectangular spacer plate.

The re-excavation allowed the archaeologists to view what Petrie had presumably witnessed in 1857/58.  Seeing the cist first-hand, the parallels between its architecture and that of the Early Neolithic were striking – if not slightly puzzling at first. (NessofBrodgar.co.uk)

The cist was very large and look like an early Neolithic stone house – might it have been adapted for the Bronze Age cist?

A possible explanation lay a short distance to the north-east, where, in 2002, the unexpected remains of an Early Neolithic house had been uncovered. Based on its architecture the house clearly dated from the fourth millennium BC.
The building was constructed sometime between 3400BC and 3100BC. The different wall sections showed the house had seen at least three phases of occupation and alteration during its 200-year lifespan. (NessofBrodgar.co.uk)

There are theories that the Knowes of Trotty would have been a larger Neolithic settlement built on the natural mounds. These structures had been levelled to allow the barrow’s construction. The barrow probably was then influenced by its preceded buildings.

It is a very easy and lovely walk, definitely would recommend it!

 

From the Earl´s Palace, it was just a short drive to get to the parking for the Isle of Birsay, a tidal island linked to the headland by a concrete causeway visible only when the sea retreats. It is about a two-hour window before and after low tide that allows us to cross the causeway to visit the island.

After a few minutes of crossing the causeway and the stony beach, we arrive at the Isle of Birsay and are greeting by the Broch of Birsay

Broch of Birsay

The historic site was not officially open, but it was possible to walk around the grounds. I think usually there is a little museum and maybe a ranger on site. But walking around this former settlement was lovely and very interesting.

 

The island hosts the remains of a substantial Pictish settlement, with evidence of Viking buildings visible too. The site of the Norse structures included a ruined Romanesque church that was a place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages. (Orkney.com)

A collection of buildings from the 10th century when the Vikings ruled Orkney and even older remains from the Pictish. It probably even was a centre of power during Pictish times.

Objects found here tell us that the site was a high status settlement for all of its life. Birsay was probably a Pictish power centre, and the village itself is likely the site of the first Orcadian bishopric (diocese) and seat of the earldom of Orkney. (Historic Enviroment Scotland)

“brough” and “birsay” come from Old Norse words, meaning “fort” but their meanings are slightly different.

 ‘Brough’ refers to the natural defences of the island. ‘Birsay’ (previously byrgisey) means an island accessible only by a narrow neck of land. (Historic Enviroment Scotland)

The Pictish lived on the Island of Birsay in the late 7th century, one of their main (still visible) reminders is a standing stone with Pictish symbols. And there is also a small well next to the church. Pictish brooches, pins, rings and bone combs were found, even under the Norse houses.

The Vikings settled on the brough in the early 9th century and stayed for around 300 years with a growing settlement.

The building and rebuilding has left a complex maze of walls – one on top of the other – between the later churchyard and the sea. (Historic Enviroment Scotland)

We still see individual rooms of houses, a house with underfloor heating and the remains of a workshop and sauna.

 

A small church and what appears to be a monastery were built in the final phase. Apart from St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, this is one of the most sophisticated medieval ecclesiastical buildings to survive in the Northern Isles. ( Historic Enviroment Scotland)

walking Birsay

I started my round around the Island, it is an easy walk along the cliffs with stunning views across the sea and the headland and many, many birds.

Stacking stones – nobody knows who and why this was started, but it is best to not do it! It exposes the soil to erosion, aesthetically intrudes upon the natural landscape (like seen here), and serves no purpose at all! Often locals have to be the ones putting the stones back down.

The lighthouse was built in 1925 by David A. Stevenson, who built 26 lighthouses in his lifetime, it is unmanned.

Puffins

Birsay is one of the best places in Orkney to spot Puffins – they nest here in the cliffs between the months of May through to July each year. My host gave me the tip to lay down and look down on the cliffs, otherwise it is hard to spot them. And I got lucky and spent th