Westray's archaeology surely rates a visit from the King
after all he studied archaeology at Cambridge to earn his MA.
If you visit the Heritage Centre you will find lots of photographs of the King’s parents visiting Westray many years ago, most notably the picture of Prince Philip squashed into the driving seat of the post van, with the Queen laughing beside him. I am sure the Royal couple would not have seen any archaeology on their visit, being too busy driving round or pressing the flesh of Westray’s good and the great or probably having a good chuckle. Since that time there have been lots of high profile archaeological digs here, adding a great deal to the knowledge base of how the ancient Westray folk lived and died and were buried.
In the summer of 2009 a small figurine The Westray Wife was found at the Links of Noltland, causing a great to-do down in Edinburgh as it is said to be the oldest representation of a human being to be found in Scotland. We’re very proud of that fact and it’s on display in a glass cabinet at the Westray Heritage Centre.
Not long after I set up my studio here I visited The Knowe of Skea and further along the coast nothwards, Peterkirk. The archaeologists Hazel Moore and Graeme Wilson of EASE Archaeology were holding open days for members of the public to visit their dig sites. Never having been to a dig before and a bit overcome to actually meet an archaeologist, I was regaled with Hazel’s fascinating tales of the ancient folk who had set up a small settlement, working the land or fishing and ultimately dying there as seen by the slowly being revealed skeletons. Of course Time Team was in its early days on the television so there was added fuel to my interest.
That dig was ongoing for a few consecutive years. Meantime another site was being uncovered. I can not find any photos in my archive of the team working the site but this time the dig was being led by James Barratt of York University, at Quoygrew, on land owned by the Trenabie Estate. This site is very much in evidence today and well kept and signed so it’s definitely worth the visit.
The biggest dig in Westray lies with the discovery of the Westray Wife. In addition to that find, one house had even cow skulls embedded in the wall. This turned out to be a neolithic settlement covering a large area adjacent to what is now the Westray Golf Club. The site is now closed down and Historic Environment Scotland together with the archaeologists, again EASE Archaeology, are now working on the analysis of the artefacts, which will take some years to complete. There is no indication from Historic Environment Scotland as to what will become of the site in future. Locally it is hoped to create a visitor centre to house information about Westray’s ancient citizens, but that may or may not happen in these cash strapped times. If you have £1 million to spare do please get in touch.
This page is not the place to cover all of Westray’s archaeology, but there is a lot of information on the CANMORE web site. If you dig down into it you will discover there are 120 itemised places in Westray, some accessible, some not, or there may only be a mound of stones.
Down below the Links of Noltland on the shore line there are two other small sites that hit the headlines, one is what is thought to be an ancient sauna and the other is a well, just above the water line. Both these sites have been dug out and recorded, as the incoming tides and poor weather conditions take their toll in the end.
The top photo shows the partially uncovered sauna. When the top of the sauna was removed the event was recorded at the time by the television cameras on one of the many short visits the Links of Noltland occasioned.
Pictured below, the water in the well was tested and proved drinkable, due to being filtered through all the sand in the land above it.
Archeology has uncovered a great deal about our island, how we lived and died, what we ate be it animals or by agriculture and fishing; how the buildings were constructed and heated and who would come to visit or stay. Westray has always welcomed visitors, they all add to the culture and language and what makes us a unique community among an archipelago of very special islands.
Thank you for reading this article.
As always, if I have made any major blunders I apologise.
With all this serious talk about digging to find the past, I found this poem by Thomas Hardy and I thought it may amuse you… or not!
"Ah, are you digging on my grave,
My loved one? — planting rue?"
— "No: yesterday he went to wed
One of the brightest wealth has bred.
'It cannot hurt her now,' he said,
'That I should not be true.'"
"Then who is digging on my grave,
My nearest dearest kin?"
— "Ah, no: they sit and think, 'What use!
What good will planting flowers produce?
No tendance of her mound can loose
Her spirit from Death's gin.'"
"But someone digs upon my grave?
My enemy? — prodding sly?"
— "Nay: when she heard you had passed the Gate
That shuts on all flesh soon or late,
She thought you no more worth her hate,
And cares not where you lie.
"Then, who is digging on my grave?
Say — since I have not guessed!"
— "O it is I, my mistress dear,
Your little dog , who still lives near,
And much I hope my movements here
Have not disturbed your rest?"
"Ah yes! You dig upon my grave…
Why flashed it not to me
That one true heart was left behind!
What feeling do we ever find
To equal among human kind
A dog's fidelity!"
"Mistress, I dug upon your grave
To bury a bone, in case
I should be hungry near this spot
When passing on my daily trot.
I am sorry, but I quite forgot
It was your resting place."