ORCA has published a report of the 1985 re-excavation of the Vinquoy Hill chambered cairn, in the north end of Eday, dedicating it to the late Jacqui Marwick, who led the operation.
Funding from the North Isles Landscape Partnership (NILPS) allowed ORCA staff to comb through the excavation records, putting together an account of the work for the first time.
After its antiquarian excavation in 1857, Vinquoy was left until 1985, when Jacqui led the operation to re-excavate and open the Neolithic structure to the public. She was joined by archaeologists George Moore and Sally Inkster.
The Victorian dig saw James Farrer and landowner Robert Hebden, break into the structure via it roof. But although they confirmed its layout – a polygonal main chamber with four side cells – the only published details was a bullet list of dimensions in an 1863 paper by the Orcadian antiquary George Petrie. As a result, although we knew the chambered cairn was there, information was sorely lacking.
Vinquoy is thought to be the first ancient monument in Scotland to be taken into care by local authority. The landowner gifted the site to Orkney Island Council, who commissioned the 20th century work. This saw the infill cleared from the interior and shed considerably more light on the architecture and life of the Neolithic structure.
Jacqui and her team recorded the internal structure for the first time, exposing and documenting the side cells and entrance passage and identified retaining walls within the mound.
They also identified an unexcavated feature inside the chamber containing Bronze Age pottery. This, together with Iron Age pottery recovered outside the cairn, indicates the structure remained a focus for activity for some 2,000 years.
Dan Lee, one of the report authors, said: “Our goal was to ensure that Jacqui finally received credit for her excavations at Vinquoy. She was something of a ‘trowel-blazer’ in Orkney and did lots of great work, particularly in her home island of Rousay.
“It’s fitting that her contribution to Orkney’s archaeology is acknowledged. Much of the descriptive text in the report is based on her extensive notes and we have dedicated the report to her memory.”
The report, Vinquoy Hill Chambered Cairn, Eday, Orkney: Excavations of a Neolithic Tomb 1985, by Jacqui Marwick, Marie Bøe, Amanda Brend and Dan Lee, can be downloaded here.
