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Category: The Cairns

Plan of The Cairns Excavation
Iron Age Seminar The Cairns

Seminar: new thoughts on Iron Age stalled buildings of northern Scotland

The first UHI Archaeology Institute online research seminar of 2023 takes place next week and will see Martin Carruthers and Scott Timpany casting a fresh eye on Iron Age stalled buildings.

by Sigurd TowrieWednesday, January 25, 2023 (12:27pm)Wednesday, January 25, 2023 (12:35pm)
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(Viv Walker)
Iron Age The Cairns

Link: Recreating Iron Age repairs – rivets and The Cairns bowl

A splendid blog post from experimental archaeologist and woodworker Viv Walker on her investigation into how The Cairns bowl was repaired in antiquity.

by Sigurd TowrieWednesday, November 30, 2022 (7:30am)Wednesday, November 30, 2022 (7:39am)
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Whale manuscript
Cata Sand Seminar The Cairns Zooarchaeology

Video – the history and archaeology of North Atlantic whales

The recording of November’s monthly UHI Archaeology Institute research seminar, From the Cairns to Cata Sand: The history and archaeology of North Atlantic cetaceans, featuring Dr Vicki Szabo, from Western Carolina University, and our very own Dr Jen Harland.

by Sigurd TowrieSaturday, November 19, 2022 (4:18pm)Saturday, November 19, 2022 (4:18pm)
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The Cairns Broch
Excavation Iron Age The Cairns

Back at The Cairns in 2023

Excavation at The Cairns Iron Age site will resume on Monday, June 12, 2023, running until Friday, July 7.

by Sigurd TowrieWednesday, November 16, 2022 (11:21am)Wednesday, November 16, 2022 (11:21am)
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close up photography of white shells
Iron Age Post-excavation The Cairns

Join Holly for an evening of shells…

The role of shellfish in the Iron Age will be among the subjects covered in a Stromness Museum talk by PhD candidate Holly Young next Thursday.

by Sigurd TowrieMonday, November 7, 2022 (7:50am)Monday, November 7, 2022 (7:51am)
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Iron Age The Cairns

Carving The Cairns bowl – an evening of talks at Stromness Museum

The wooden bowl recovered at The Cairns excavation in 2018 will be centre of attention at an evening of talks in the Stromness Museum next Friday.

by Sigurd TowrieWednesday, October 26, 2022 (4:00pm)Monday, October 31, 2022 (7:30am)
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Excavation Iron Age Post-excavation The Cairns

Isotope analysis reveals an atypical Iron Age diet for The Cairn’s ‘elder’

Analysis of a woman’s jawbone deposited outside an Iron Age broch around AD200 has shown that seafood was major part of her diet throughout her life.

by Sigurd TowrieMonday, October 17, 2022 (4:43pm)Monday, October 17, 2022 (4:43pm)
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Aerial view of The Cairns, South Ronaldsay. (Bobby Friel)
Excavation Iron Age The Cairns

Catch up with The Cairns – tours of excavation site on offer next week

We had to significantly reduce the scale of excavation at The Cairns this year but before the covers go back on we’re inviting the public to come along for a tour and an update on the work undertaken this year.

by Sigurd TowrieFriday, July 1, 2022 (7:00am)Wednesday, June 29, 2022 (1:18pm)
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Cairns interior
Excavation The Cairns

Excavation at The Cairns cancelled

We’re sorry to announce that due to unforeseen circumstances this summer’s excavation at The Cairns has been cancelled.

by Sigurd TowrieFriday, June 10, 2022 (4:53pm)Friday, June 10, 2022 (4:53pm)
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The Cairns Broch
Excavation Iron Age The Cairns

‘People of the Broch’ – OAS talk by Cairns dig director

The recording of Martin Carruthers’s talk – People of the Broch: Excavating an Iron Age Community at The Cairns – to the Orkney Archaeology Society on Thursday, May 26.

by Sigurd TowrieMonday, May 23, 2022 (8:00am)Monday, May 30, 2022 (5:18pm)
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The Cairns broch from above. (Bobby Friel)
Iron Age The Cairns

Cairns excavation takes pride of place at Stromness Museum summer exhibition

Our ongoing excavation at The Cairns is the subject of this year’s summer exhibition at the Stromness Museum.

by Sigurd TowrieFriday, May 6, 2022 (7:40am)Friday, June 10, 2022 (4:55pm)
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The Cairns broch from above. (Bobby Friel)
Excavation Iron Age The Cairns

Back at The Cairns – excavation dates set for 2022

Excavation will resume at The Cairns this summer – from June 13 until July 8, 2022.

by Sigurd TowrieMonday, March 7, 2022 (8:44am)Tuesday, May 10, 2022 (9:55am)
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Aerial view of The Cairns, South Ronaldsay. (Bobby Friel)
Excavation Iron Age The Cairns

Catch up with The Cairns in Glasgow University’s free online seminar

Archaeology Institute excavations at The Cairns, in South Ronaldsay, will be among the topics covered by the University of Glasgow’s new season of free online seminars.

by Sigurd TowrieFriday, March 4, 2022 (8:32am)Monday, May 2, 2022 (11:10am)
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Brochtoberfest Iron Age Research The Cairns

Institute’s Brochtoberfest talks available to watch online

The four University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute talks featured in the fifth annual Orkney Archaeology Society Brochtoberfest are now available to view online.

by Sigurd TowrieTuesday, October 19, 2021 (10:48am)Wednesday, October 20, 2021 (10:26am)
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Excavation Ness of Brodgar Skaill Farmstead The Cairns

Two projects resume excavation this summer

All University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute excavations were cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic. This summer, as lockdown measures ease, archaeologists are looking forward to getting back to some fieldwork.

by Sigurd TowrieFriday, June 4, 2021 (8:00am)Friday, June 4, 2021 (8:03am)
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Grey Whale Featured Image
Publications The Cairns Zooarchaeology

New paper – evidence of the grey whale at Scottish archaeological sites

A new paper co-authored by the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute’s Dr Ingrid Mainland and Martin Carruthers was launched today and is free to access online.

by Sigurd TowrieFriday, May 21, 2021 (7:39pm)Tuesday, May 25, 2021 (1:48pm)
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Posts navigation

Older posts
The Cairns
Goodfellow’s 1902 account
Phases at The Cairns
The Broch
The ditch
The Broch ‘well’
The Cairns bowl
The ‘Elder’
Middle Iron Age village
Structure J
Structure O
Structures N, S and P
Post-broch settlement
Structures K, Q and R
The Structure B complex
Structure K – re-use and prestige metalworking
The souterrain
Going underground – souterrains at The Cairns
News archive
Dig Diary 2017
Dig Diary 2018
Dig Diary 2019
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Archaeology Orkney

UHI Archaeology Institute

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UHI Archaeology Institute, Orkney College UHI, East Road, Kirkwall. KW15 1LX
(01856) 569000
sigurd.towrie@uhi.ac.uk
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  • Tombs of the Isles - Taversoe Tuick and Blackhammer updated
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  • Tombs of the Isles
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  • SIRFA symposium - Orkney 2023
  • The Cairns
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