Grice Ness was a kelp-processing site located on the head of a peninsula on Stronsay’s east coast. The kelp workings (Canmore ID 3300) run along the coast from NGR HY 66992 128630, in the north, to HY 67078 28102, on the south shore.
The site was visited as part of the project launch in Stronsay during November 2023, followed up by recording by ORCA and a group of local volunteers in May 2024.
The site comprises an abundance of features related to the kelp industry, with some 25 kelp pits and 51 tangle dykes identified. The kelp workings were generally visible as four separate clusters, each associated with large, flat areas of rocky foreshore. Kelp workings were noticeably absent along one portion of the south shore, where the uneven ground surface area and a near vertical coastal edge may have made it too difficult to collect the raw materials.
The kelp pits varied in size from 1.75m to 3.1m in diameter and survived as shallow depressions in the grass cover of the headland. The tangle dykes were generally well-preserved, visible as low stone structures, built using coursed masonry, and set in parallel lines perpendicular to the foreshore. They varied in length from c. 2.2m to 8.25m, with an average width of 1m, and ranged in height from 0.15m to 0.55m.
