A team from the Archaeology Institute UHI and ORCA, together with a small army of volunteers, have been out inspecting the fragile archaeology around a medieval cemetery at Newark, Deerness, Orkney.
Storms in January and February have badly affected Newark and disrupted many of the protective measures carefully put in place in the months previously.
The site is being actively watched over by Deerness residents and by volunteers from across Orkney, including students and staff from the Archaeology Institute UHI.
We know that sandbags are not the answer to protecting the site in the long term but they do provide some protection. As soon as the weather makes it safe to replace and secure them again, we’ll put out a shout for help.
In the meantime if you find bags blowing about, please gather them up, weigh them down near the car park (in a sheltered place) and if we can re-use them, we will.
As a separate issue from the protection of the site, Historic Environment Scotland is funding a major three-year study of the site and the human remains.
Currently a major report is being compiled of all that’s been done at Newark in the past, what we know about the site and what needs to be done for the future to best understand it and all that’s found there. The work is being carried out by ORCA and led by a steering group made up of landowner, volunteers, archaeologists and Gail Drinkall of Orkney Museum.
Years two and three of the project will be examining the human remains, completing DNA analysis and other work to determine as much as we can about the many folk buried there.
We know that people were interred at Newark between the 6th and 15th centuries A.D. (https://canmore.org.uk/site/3033/newark) and that their remains may hold information about the little-understood Pictish/Viking transition in Orkney. Many remains were excavated 50 years ago and are safely preserved.
A major exhibition about Newark and all our findings will take place in the Orkney Museum over the summer of 2022, and other grants are being applied for in order to extend the project, to complete further research, but we fear indeed that the sea will ultimately win the battle.
In the meantime, please respect this site of human burial and be aware that it’s not safe around the site at present due to undermined banks and boulders making walking dangerous. We will continue to do what we can and if you want to help, watch out for the next call for volunteers.
I’m very sorry to read this – very sorry – that site, is one of ‘those’ places. What’s to be done? apart from massive stone walls like at Skara Brae, and other coastal sites – often to protect cemeteries. But, that costs – it costs a lot. And then there’s maintenance………..
I look forward to an exhibition about Newark , but 2022 seems a long way, away.
https://theorkneynews.scot/2020/01/24/newark-bay-life-on-the-edge-of-the-ocean/
https://theorkneynews.scot/2020/02/21/the-people-of-the-sea/
I wondered if you have considered a concrete block barrier. There are types of concrete that withstand the sea water and waves. Blocks are better than a continuous wall because they can be lowered into place, and if damaged can be removed and replaced. It is worth considering.
I have an idea to stop the erosion, or at least slow it down. If you can use huge cement blocks – not a wall but blocks so they can be replaced as they become weathered, it will stop the sea from battering the coastline there. My brother is a chemist and I asked him about polymer infused cements and he said there are some that could work for that. And some cements harden more as they age, so I think it’s something to look into. Please let me know if this is a helpful idea at all.