Holm of Papa, viewed across South Wick, from Papa Westray | |
Location | |
---|---|
OS grid reference | HY507519 |
Coordinates | 59°21′N2°52′W / 59.35°N 2.87°W |
Physical geography | |
Island group | Orkney |
Area | 21 ha [1] |
Highest elevation | 15 m |
Administration | |
Council area | Orkney Islands |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Demographics | |
Population | 0 [2] |
References | [3] [4] |
The Holm of Papa (or Holm of Papay, Holm of Papa Westray and known locally as the Papay Holm, [5] [6] [7] ) is a very small uninhabited island in the Orkney Islands. It is around 21 hectares (52 acres) in size. [1] It can be visited from its neighbouring island Papa Westray, or Papay, an island less than a hundred metres west of the Holm.
The main sight on the small island is the Southcairn, a 20 metre long chambered cairn dating from approx. 3000 BC on whose stones one can find ancient carvings. [8] The long, stalled cairn, built of local stone, was once a communal burial place for the bones of an ancient community. It is protected by a modern roof and entered by a trapdoor from above. It is possible that the inhabitants of the Knap of Howar buried their dead here. There are three ancient chambered cairns on the holm. Visitors can arrange privately for small boat access through the Co-op shop on Papa Westray. The cairn is readily visible from the larger island.
“Eyebrow motif” carvings found in the southernmost chambered cairn bear a resemblance to the "eyes" of the Orkney Venus found at Links of Noltland on Westray. [7]
Joseph Anderson noted that in the Orkneyinga saga "The two Papeys, the great and the little (anciently Papey Meiri and Papey Minni), now Papa Westray and Papa Stronsay, are both mentioned in the Saga. Fordun in his enumeration of the islands, has a 'Papeay tertia' [third Papey], which is not now known." [9] William Thomson suggests that "perhaps Papay Tercia was the Holm of Papay — not a separate papar-site but a holm subsidiary to Papa Westray". [10]
Stronsay is an island in Orkney, Scotland. It is known as Orkney's 'Island of Bays', owing to an irregular shape with miles of coastline, with three large bays separated by two isthmuses: St Catherine's Bay to the west, the Bay of Holland to the south and Mill Bay to the east. Stronsay is 3,275 hectares in area, and 44 metres in altitude at its highest point. It has a usually resident population of 349. The main village is Whitehall, home to a heritage centre.
Eday is one of the islands of Orkney, which are located to the north of the Scottish mainland. One of the North Isles, Eday is about 24 kilometres from the Orkney Mainland. With an area of 27 km2 (10 sq mi), it is the ninth-largest island of the archipelago. The bedrock of the island is Old Red Sandstone, which is exposed along the sea-cliffs.
Westray is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, with a usual resident population of just under 600 people. Its main village is Pierowall, with a heritage centre, the 15th-century Lady Kirk church and pedestrian ferry service to nearby Papa Westray island. Westray has a number of archeological sites dating from 3500 BC, and remains of several Norse-Viking settlements. The spectacular sea cliffs around Noup Head are home to thousands of seabirds.
South Ronaldsay is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. It is linked to the Orkney Mainland by the Churchill Barriers, running via Burray, Glimps Holm and Lamb Holm.
Papa Westray, also known as Papay, is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, United Kingdom. The fertile soil has long been a draw to the island.
Faray is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying between Eday and Westray. Previously inhabited, the low-lying island is now a successful grey seal breeding colony.
The Calf of Eday is an uninhabited island in Orkney, Scotland, lying north east of Eday. It is known for its wildlife and its prehistoric ruins.
Papa Stronsay is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying north east of Stronsay. It is 74 hectares in size, and 13 metres (43 ft) above sea level at its highest point. After being largely abandoned, the island was bought at the end of the 20th century by traditionalist Catholic monks of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, who operate a monastery and farm there.
The Knap of Howar on the island of Papa Westray in Orkney, Scotland is a Neolithic farmstead which may be the oldest preserved stone house in northern Europe. Radiocarbon dating shows that it was occupied from 3700 BC to 2800 BC, earlier than the similar houses in the settlement at Skara Brae on the Orkney Mainland.
The Papar were Irish monks who took eremitic residence in parts of Iceland before that island's habitation by the Norsemen of Scandinavia. Their existence is attested by the early Icelandic sagas and recent archaeological findings.
Gairsay is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, located in the parish of Rendall, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) off the coast, astride one of the approaches to the bays of Firth and Kirkwall. It is about 2 miles (3.2 km) long and 1 mile (1.6 km) wide and includes one conical hill and a small harbour called Millburn Bay, which is sheltered by the peninsula known as the Hen of Gairsay.
This is a list of places in Scotland called Papa or similar, which are so named after the Papar, monks from the Early Historic Period or from their connection to other, later priests.
Helliar Holm is an uninhabited island off the coast of Shapinsay in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. It is home to a 42-foot-tall (13 m) lighthouse, which was built in 1893 and automated in 1967. It is a tidal island that used to be connected to Shapinsay. It is still possible to walk across from the mainland during very low tides.
Kili Holm is a tidal island in the Orkney Islands, linked to Egilsay. Unusually, like its neighbour Egilsay, it may have a partly Gaelic etymology, in this case from cille meaning a monk's cell. This may make it another “Papey” or island of the papar or culdees.
Pabay Mòr or Pabaigh Mòr is an uninhabited island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Linga Holm, commonly known as Linga, Midgarth and the Holm of Midgarth is an uninhabited Scottish island extending to approximately 57 hectares (0.22 sq mi) situated 700 metres (770 yd) west of Stronsay island in the Orkney archipelago. The name "Linga Holm" is derived from the Old Norse Lyngholm.
The Westray Wife is a small Neolithic figurine, 4 centimetres (1.6 in) in height, carved from sandstone. It was discovered during an Historic Scotland dig at the Links of Noltland, on Westray, Orkney, Scotland, in the summer of 2009. It was the first Neolithic carving of a human form to have been found in Scotland, and to date it is the earliest depiction of a face found in the United Kingdom.
Papa is an uninhabited island in the Scalloway Islands, Shetland, Scotland.
St Boniface's Church, Papa Westray is a historic church and graveyard located on the island of Papa Westray in Orkney, Scotland. The site of the church dates back to the Iron Age and was possibly used later as a Christian monastery. The present church was built in the 12th century and was remodeled in 1710. A 12th-century Norse hogback gravestone lies to the east of the church. Two Pictish cross-slabs were uncovered in the graveyard in the 20th century, and were later moved to museums. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1959.
59°21′02″N2°52′07″W / 59.35053°N 2.86868°W