Links of Noltland is a large prehistoric settlement located on the north coast of the island of Westray in Orkney, Scotland. The extensive ruins includes several late Neolithic and early Bronze Age dwellings and is place of discovery of the Westray Wife figurine, uncovered during an excavation in 2009. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1993.
Links of Noltland is located south of the Bay of Grobust on the island of Westray in Orkney, Scotland. Close to the site is the Knowe of Queen o' Howe broch and further south is Noltland Castle. [1] The site is threatened by erosion of the sand dunes.
The ancient settlement, dating from around 3300 BCE to 800 BCE, contains late Neolithic and Bronze Age structural ruins, now buried beneath sand dunes. [2] Excavations have revealed over 30 buildings of Neolithic and Bronze Age date, [3] the earliest of which overlaps in use with the Knap of Howar on the neighbouring island of Papa Westray, the oldest standing structure in NW Europe. During excavations between 1978 and 1981, large midden deposits, structural remains, and field walls, which indicated evidence of prehistoric cultivation and field boundaries, were uncovered. Among the finds in the western area of the site was a hearth and several red deer skeletons. In the eastern section of the archaeological site, was a large building which had survived to roof height. The structure included several separate rooms and compartments joined by passages. [4] [5] In 2015, a substantial subterranean building dating from the Bronze Age was uncovered; this was very well preserved and is interpreted as a sweat-house or sauna. [6]
In 2009, archaeological excavation uncovered a large building described as a "village hall". The structure overlooks the main settlement and would have been about 20 metres (66 ft) wide and had walls 3 metres (9.8 ft) thick. During this excavation, a 4 cm lozenge-shaped figurine that is believed to be the earliest representation of a human face ever found in Scotland, now known as the Westray Wife (or Orkney Venus) was discovered. [7] The face has two dots for eyes, heavy brows and an oblong nose and a pattern of hatches on the body could represent clothing. Archaeologist Richard Strachan described it at the time as a find of "astonishing rarity". [8] [9] This is the oldest carving of a human found in the British Isles. [10] Further figurines were subsequently found at the site, in 2010 and in 2012, a situation described as "unprecedented" by Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop. [11] [12] Four figurines have been found, together with other artefacts.
Later excavations, along with geophysical and topographical surveys, have revealed additional structural remains, increasing the number of probable Neolithic buildings to six and the number of Bronze Age buildings to eight. Many Neolithic artefacts have been found, including polished stone axes, worked bone objects, and grooved ware pottery. [8]
Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1993. [5] The site is in the care of Historic Scotland. [13] The excavations won 'Best Rescue Dig' of the year in the 2014 Current Archaeology awards. [14]
Several of the figurines and other artefacts from the site can be seen at Westray Heritage Centre and the excavation is open seasonally (free of charge). [15]
A chambered cairn is a burial monument, usually constructed during the Neolithic, consisting of a sizeable chamber around and over which a cairn of stones was constructed. Some chambered cairns are also passage-graves. They are found throughout Britain and Ireland, with the largest number in Scotland.
Skara Brae is a stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill in the parish of Sandwick, on the west coast of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. It consisted of ten clustered houses, made of flagstones, in earthen dams that provided support for the walls; the houses included stone hearths, beds, and cupboards. A primitive sewer system, with "toilets" and drains in each house, included water used to flush waste into a drain and out to the ocean.
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.
Jarlshof is the best-known prehistoric archaeological site in Shetland, Scotland. It lies in Sumburgh, Mainland, Shetland and has been described as "one of the most remarkable archaeological sites ever excavated in the British Isles". It contains remains dating from 2500 BC up to the 17th century AD.
Archaeology and geology continue to reveal the secrets of prehistoric Scotland, uncovering a complex past before the Romans brought Scotland into the scope of recorded history. Successive human cultures tended to be spread across Europe or further afield, but focusing on this particular geographical area sheds light on the origin of the widespread remains and monuments in Scotland, and on the background to the history of Scotland.
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.
This timeline of prehistoric Scotland is a chronologically ordered list of important archaeological sites in Scotland and of major events affecting Scotland's human inhabitants and culture during the prehistoric period. The period of prehistory prior to occupation by the genus Homo is part of the geology of Scotland. Prehistory in Scotland ends with the arrival of the Romans in southern Scotland in the 1st century AD and the beginning of written records. The archaeological sites and events listed are the earliest examples or among the most notable of their type.
Prehistoric Orkney refers only to the prehistory of the Orkney archipelago of Scotland that begins with human occupation. Although some records referring to Orkney survive that were written during the Roman invasions of Scotland, “prehistory” in northern Scotland is defined as lasting until the start of Scotland's Early Historic Period.
The Ness of Brodgar is an archaeological site covering 2.5 hectares between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site on the main Island of Orkney, Scotland. The site was excavated from 2003 to 2024, when it was infilled due to concerns about damage to the structures exposed by excavation.
Blackhammer Chambered Cairn is a Neolithic chambered cairn located on the island of Rousay, in Orkney, Scotland. The tomb, constructed around 3000 BC, is a Orkney–Cromarty chambered cairn, characterized by stalled burial compartments. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1994.
Midhowe Broch is an Iron Age broch located on the west coast of the island of Rousay in the Orkney Islands, in Scotland.
Quoyness chambered cairn is a Neolithic burial monument located on the island of Sanday in Orkney, Scotland. Similar to Maeshowe in design, the tomb was probably built around 3000 BC. The skeletal remains of several people were uncovered in the tomb during excavation in 1867. The monument was partially restored and reconstructed after a second excavation during the early 1950s, to display the different original stages of construction of the tomb. The property is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.
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.
Prehistoric Shetland refers to the prehistoric period of the Shetland archipelago of Scotland, when it was first occupied by humans. The period prior to human settlement in Shetland is known as the geology of Scotland. Prehistory in Shetland does not end until the beginning of the Early Medieval Period in Scotland, around AD 600. More than 5,000 archaeological sites have been recorded in the Shetland Islands.
Euan Wallace MacKie was a British archaeologist and anthropologist. He was a prominent figure in the field of Archaeoastronomy.
Prehistoric art in Scotland is visual art created or found within the modern borders of Scotland, before the departure of the Romans from southern and central Britain in the early fifth century CE, which is usually seen as the beginning of the early historic or Medieval era. There is no clear definition of prehistoric art among scholars and objects that may involve creativity often lack a context that would allow them to be understood.
Tofts Ness is a peninsula located on the north-east tip of the island of Sanday in Orkney, Scotland. It encompasses a prehistoric site which shows evidence of human occupation beginning in the late Neolithic Age and continuing through the Iron Age. The scheduled monument consists of mounds, cairns, enclosures, ancient soils and structural remains. Tofts Ness is also the location of multiple shipwrecks.
Knowe of Yarso chambered cairn is a Neolithic burial monument located on the island of Rousay in Orkney, Scotland. The site was excavated in the 1930s, and uncovered human and animal bones as well as pottery sherds, flint and bone tools, and arrowheads. The tomb, dating to the period between 3500 and 2500 BC, is a stalled chambered cairn, similar to Midhowe and Blackhammer. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1994.