A grant from the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland supported the work of Martin Carruthers (University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute, Orkney) in the long-term excavations of the multi-period settlement at The Cairns in Orkney. 

Overview

Situated on the isle of South Ronaldsay in Orkney, The Cairns is a large, deeply-stratified, multi-phase prehistoric and early historic site spanning the Neolithic to Viking/Norse eras. We have been undertaking research and training excavations at the site since 2006. The focus is a substantial, (c. 21.5m in external diameter), well-preserved Iron Age broch or Complex Atlantic Roundhouse, dating to the 1st Century BC, or earlier, and its extramural village. In 2024, excavation took place from 10th June – 5th July.

Oblique aerial view of The Cairns during the 2024 excavation © UHI Archaeology Institute

The broch

Our work in the broch interior further explored complex occupation and hearth deposits. These were rich in stone and bone tools and large amounts of pottery, including decorated sherds. We also recovered substantial volumes of animal bone including a very high proportion of butchered red deer. This species pattern is in marked contrast to that found in the extramural settlement where cattle, sheep, and pig predominate in occupation and midden deposits. This may well be a significant indicator for the differential social status of the broch household. Excavation and removal of an upper hearth base-slab in the SE zone of the broch permitted investigation of a complex series of earlier ashy rake-out deposits and, beneath these, a neat setting of edge-set stones in a sub-rectangular form. Together with a base slab, the setting represented an earlier formal stage of the hearth. The hearth seems to have been originally constructed as a shallow bowl, cut, or scooped, into the thick clay floor that extends across this portion of the broch. Concurrent processing of soil samples from the broch occupation deposits yielded amber fragments, tiny copper alloy chain links and two tiny glass beads, one yellow and the other aqua-green, bringing the total number of glass ornaments from the broch to 9 (12 in total from the site).

Broch period external structures

Looking west across the site towards Structure O © UHI Archaeology Institute

Immediately outside the eastern side of the broch wall, close to the broch entrance, lies Structure O. Structure O appears to be a large, well-built sub-rectangular building or yard, contemporary with the broch. Excavation of the rubble infill of Structure O, revealed deposits rich in animal bone, marine shells, stone tools and pottery sherds. Faunal remains also included two separate Associated Bone Groups (ABGs) of loosely articulated cattle bones. A large rim fragment from a substantial whale bone vessel was also forthcoming from the rubble. Complete excavation of the infill deposits clarified the outline of Structure O on the southeast side, showing that the structure is even larger than previously thought and, intriguingly, that it extends past the adjacent main broch entrance; it appears, therefore, to block a putative central pathway, running through the extramural settlement toward the broch door, of the type more ‘normally’ present in Orcadian broch-village sites, such as Gurness and Howe. The work exposed earthen and slab floor surfaces (incorporating a reused rotary quern) and these will be excavated and sampled next field season.

After the broch

On the western exterior of the broch, we returned our attention to a group of post-broch sub-rectangular structures or ‘wag’-like buildings (the Structure B complex) originating in the early 4th Century AD. Work in Structure B2, the westernmost of the complex, elucidated the fuller outline and layout of the building, including the remains of a mural cell set in its western wall-face. The uppermost clay floors, and a long centrally-built hearth-setting, were revealed.

A glass bead and bead fragment from the broch floor © UHI Archaeology Institute

Two tiny fragments of a finely engraved green Roman glass vessel were forthcoming from the building, hinting at something of the status of the occupants; these types of finds fit a preferential pattern of fine Roman feasting glassware across ‘native’ sites of Atlantic Scotland.

We also investigated more post-broch features on the eastern exterior of the broch, including a finely built series of cells belonging to Structure U. The infill of this building was composed of layers of midden material, very substantial volumes of large animal bones, including more ABGs. These appear to derive from feasting debris marking the termination of the building. These deposits also included worked bone artefacts, including a putative finely carved antler pommel. A whole articulated adult pig skeleton was unearthed outside Structure U, nearby.

By the conclusion of the field season in 2024, 24 Iron Age buildings have been identified at The Cairns. Radiocarbon dating of the occupation so far indicates a range in time from at least the 1st Century BC to the 12th Century AD or later. Several structures are now fully excavated and recorded, and others will be soon completed, building the biography of the settlement.

Future work

In 2025, further excavation will be conducted in the broch interior revealing much of the earliest floor and occupation deposits of the structure and further examining the early hearth-settings. Outside the broch, work will again focus on Structure O, its occupation sequence, and other buildings of the extramural complex, to provide good comparanda with the contemporary broch floors, excavated materials and environmental samples. Excavation of Late Iron Age Structure B2 will be completed. Renewed attention to portions of the major ditched enclosure that surrounds the early phases of the settlement will allow examination of its foundation and permit further exploration of material sequences, such as the pottery from the site.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the landowners of The Cairns, Charlie and Yvonne Nicholson and family, for their unstinting hospitality and good cheer over the years of the excavations and landscape surveys. The work was funded by Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Orkney Islands Council, and UHI Archaeology Institute.