The Scar boat burial is a Viking boat burial near the village of Scar, on Sanday, in Orkney, Scotland. The burial, which dates to between 875 and 950 AD, contained the remains of a man, an elderly woman, and a child, along with numerous grave goods. Although the site had to be excavated quickly because of the threat of coastal erosion owing to bad weather conditions, it yielded many important finds.
The site at The Crook Beach, 1 km northeast of Scar, was found in 1985 by John Dearness, a farmer on Sanday. He found bones sticking out of the ground and a small lead object, and thought that he might have discovered the resting place of a dead sailor. Dearness died before the significance of the site was realized. [1]
In 1991, archaeologist Julie Gibson visited the island, having heard of the discovery of the bones six years earlier. She was shown the small lead object, and took it to Kirkwall for identification. As it turned out to be a lead weight for measuring bullion, Gibson and Dr Raymond Lamb investigated the site further. [2]
Appreciating the significance of the site, the archaeologists realised they had to act swiftly, as it was exposed and rapidly eroding. Historic Scotland put together a team led by Magnar Dalland to excavate the site, which took place over November and December 1991. [1]
The wood of the 6.5-metre (21 ft) long and 1.5-metre (4.9 ft) wide boat had rotted away, leaving more than 300 iron rivets. It was placed in a boat-shaped stone-lined enclosure which was packed with further stones. There were also stones forming a walled enclosure inside the boat itself, within which were found the remains of three bodies. [3] Sand within the boat lining was found not to match sand from Orkney, Shetland, nor the Scottish mainland, indicating that the boat was not made in Scotland, and that both it and its occupants may have come from Norway or elsewhere. [1]
The walled enclosure contained the remains of a man, a woman, and a child, along with numerous grave goods. [2] The man was aged about 30 when he died, the woman about 70, and the child—of unknown sex—about 10 or 11. There is evidence that the man had rowed a boat when he was younger, and that the woman had habitually sat cross-legged, and had possibly spun flax. [4]
Grave goods found next to the man include a sword, a quiver with arrows, a bone comb, and gaming pieces. Found next to the woman was a whalebone plaque (pictured) that has become known as the Scar Dragon Plaque, and a gilded brooch. Goods found next to the woman included a comb, shears, a sickle, and two spindle whorls. [3] No evidence was found of how any of the three occupants died.
In 2010 the Scar Dragon Plaque was briefly loaned to the Jorvik Viking Centre in York. [5]
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.
Maeshowe is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave situated on Mainland Orkney, Scotland. It was probably built around 2800 BC. In the archaeology of Scotland, it gives its name to the Maeshowe type of chambered cairn, which is limited to Orkney.
A ship burial or boat grave is a burial in which a ship or boat is used either as the tomb for the dead and the grave goods, or as a part of the grave goods itself. If the ship is very small, it is called a boat grave. This style of burial was practiced by various seafaring cultures in Asia and Europe. Notable ship burial practices include those by the Germanic peoples, particularly by Viking Age Norsemen, as well as the pre-colonial ship burials described in the Boxer Codex in the Philippines.
The Brough of Birsay is an uninhabited tidal island off the north-west coast of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland, in the parish of Birsay. It is located around 13 miles north of Stromness and features the remains of Pictish and Norse settlements as well as a modern light house.
Sanday is one of the inhabited islands of Orkney that lies off the north coast of mainland Scotland. With an area of 50.43 km2 (19.5 sq mi), it is the third largest of the Orkney Islands. The main centres of population are Lady Village and Kettletoft. Sanday can be reached by Orkney Ferries or by plane from Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland. On Sanday, an on-demand public minibus service allows connecting to the ferry.
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.
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.
Humans have inhabited Orkney, an archipelago in the north of Scotland, for about 8,800 years: Archeological evidence dates from Mesolithic times. Scandinavian clans dominated the area from the 8th century CE, using the islands as a base for further incursions. In the late 14th century the archipelago became part of Scotland.
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.
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 Port an Eilean Mhòir boat burial is a Viking boat burial site in Ardnamurchan, Scotland, the most westerly point on the island of Great Britain. Dated to the 10th century, the burial consists of a Viking boat about 5 metres long by 1.5 metres (5 ft) wide in which a man was laid to rest with his shield, sword and spear as well as other grave goods.
Scandinavian Scotland was the period from the 8th to the 15th centuries during which Vikings and Norse settlers, mainly Norwegians and to a lesser extent other Scandinavians, and their descendants colonised parts of what is now the periphery of modern Scotland. Viking influence in the area commenced in the late 8th century, and hostility between the Scandinavian earls of Orkney and the emerging thalassocracy of the Kingdom of the Isles, the rulers of Ireland, Dál Riata and Alba, and intervention by the crown of Norway were recurring themes.
Pierowall is a village of Westray in the Orkney Islands, off the coast of the northern Scottish mainland. The village is the island's largest settlement and lies near its northern end, around Pierowall Bay. It has a variety of historical remains dating from the Neolithic, the Iron Age, the Middle Ages, and later, including a large pagan Norse cemetery. In 1961 it had a population of 108.
Scar is a village and farm complex on the island of Sanday in Orkney, Scotland. The B9068 road runs from Scar to Kettletoft. The Scar boat burial was found at the Crook Beach in 1985 and discovered in September 1991. Scar House, former windmill and former water mill are B listed buildings.
Huna House is a Victorian building located in the small village of Huna in Canisbay, north of Caithness. Built in 1870 as the Huna Hotel, it is listed as a historic place at Historic Environment Scotland. The hotel, located on the eastern edge of a rocky coastline and an intertidal sandbank from Huna House to Scotland's Haven, sits on a short cliff with views of the Island of Stroma, the double-lighthouse of Pentland Skerries, and the Orkney Islands.
Olwyn Owen, FSA Scot, is a British archaeologist and academic specialising in Scandianvian Scotland.
Chapel Hill, Balladoole is a significant historical and archaeological site in Arbory on the Isle of Man. The site is a short distance from Castletown in the south of the Island. It is located on a small hilltop overlooking the coast. Balladoole has undergone extensive archaeological excavations in the 20th century, most notably in 1944-1945 by German archaeologist Gerhard Bersu who was interned on the Isle of Man during World War II.
The Orkney Museum, formerly Tankerness House Museum, is a history museum in Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland. Run by Orkney Islands Council, the museum covers the history of the Orkney Islands from the Stone Age through the Picts and Vikings to the present day.
The Knowes of Trotty is a Bronze Age cemetery located in Mainland, Orkney in Scotland. The ancient site consists of a group of twelve surviving burial mounds, dating to 2030–1770 BC. Along with cremated human remains, four gold discs and a number of amber beads and pendants were discovered in the largest mound in 1858. Knowes of Trotty is one of the earliest group of burial mounds in Orkney and one of the largest Bronze Age cemeteries in the United Kingdom.
Quoygrew, Westray is the site of a medieval Norse settlement on the island of Westray in Orkney, Scotland. Established as a small farmstead most likely between 900 and 1000 AD, and later expanded in 1200, Quoygrew includes the remains of medieval and post-medieval buildings that range in date from the 10th to the 16th centuries. The 1 hectare farmstead was continuously occupied until the early 20th century. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 2014.
59°17′52″N2°34′04″W / 59.2978°N 2.5679°W
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