Week one at Skaill started with a splash! Well, with torrential rain anyway.
The first day, Monday, July 6, was very wet, but the team were just uncovering the site so were able to make a good start. Site co-director Dan Lee provides an update.
It’s great to be back at the site for what we plan to be the final season on the eastern side of the site – exploring the medieval and postmedieval farm buildings that we have been working on for a number of years now. The buildings date from at least the 14th to 19th century with a number of structural phases that have raised the ground level by around two metres.
This year we are hosting five UHI undergraduate and post-graduate students for their excavation training modules, and joined by returning students and Rousay residents.
The plan this year is to explore the early phases of the buildings. Last season we excavated inside the large rectangular building, which is contemporary with the square building – both potentially as early as the 14th century. We want to excavate part of the internal floors in both buildings.
Inside the dwelling house to the west, we will excavate the remaining floor deposits and see if there are any even earlier buildings that might be contemporary with the Norse hall, which is located on the other side of the standing buildings and is not being excavated this season.
We have extended the main trench to the north in two locations to try to find the continuation of an early building to the north of the square building. This involved exposing and recording the remains of a much later structure. Comprising low wall footings and stone surfaces which were built above the wall of the square building, these are contemporary with a 19th century square corn drying kiln that was excavated in 2022.
Inside the rectangular building, a late stone wall was removed to expose the internal floor – a fine surface of large neatly placed thin slabs. This floor seems to be contemporary with a floor and wall outside to the south, suggesting that the floor was laid when this additional room was added and the building refurbished.
Jen has been exploring the glimpses of these structures to the south of the rectangular buildings, removing a later section of wall to expose the top of a much earlier building that continues to the west. Part of this was built upon when the dwelling house was constructed.
This part of the site is certainly complex, with lots of tantalising early structures heading off to the south outside the trench. The outside corner of the rectangular building was exposed showing the exceptionally fine stonework. Exploratory sections down the sides of these walls will hopefully result in more insights. A copper alloy broch was found during cleaning in the northern section.
Inside the dwelling house, the last of the internal earth floors were excavated, and a platform was removed, exposing the stone and clay levelling used the support the hearth that was excavated last season. This floor appears to be the last in the occupation sequence for the house and we appear to be reaching a horizon that might predate the buildings and relate to an external area west of the rectangular building.
Inside the central room, which formed an early addition between the square and rectangular buildings, the primary floor surface was recorded and removed. This area presents our best opportunity to explore horizons that predate the buildings and which may be contemporary with the Norse hall.
Below the floor, a levelling layer of stony rubble had been used to support the floor. This contained a shed of diagnostic pottery that could be 14th – 15th century in date and a perfectly preserved roll of birch bark preserved in the damp conditions below the floor. Birch bark was – and still is – collected from the shore, washed up from elsewhere, and used as firelighters.
Once the levelling was removed, a silty deposit containing lots of lime mortar, shell and fish bone was exposed. Excitingly, this sealed a well-built stone wall, bonded with mortar and with the remains of a mortar render. This is very significant, being the first mortared wall we have found on the site and could be early, potentially even 12th century.
With the weather much improved, the first week was productive and the team made a really good start. Watch this space for updates on week two, with the weather set to be fine and sunny, to find out about our investigations into the early phases of the site..
Skaill was funded this year with grants from OIC Archaeology Fund, Birdhouse Trust and Rousay Egilsay and Wyre Development Trust.
