|
There
is evidence of funerary practices and other ritual activity
at a number of tombs. Deposits of ash and charcoal have
been found in burial chambers along with cremated human
bone, broken pottery vessels, flint tools and animal
bones. Unfortunately, excavation and recording standards
in the past have meant that, in most cases, this material
was either missed or ignored. One thing that has emerged
is the fact that fire was apparently an important part
of the funeral ritual since there is clear evidence
of burning inside several of the tomb chambers. It
is also clear that ritual activity was not confined
to the interior of the tomb. At Knowe of Craie on Rousay
a small hollow containing ash with fragments of burnt
bone, flint chips and potsherds was found just outside
the entrance. Undoubtedly similar features existed at
many if not all of the other sites but, unfortunately,
it is the sort of feature that is unlikely to survive
undisturbed and if it does, would have been all too
easily overlooked by Victorian excavators.
 |
Isbister.
Skull along with a rim sherd of Unstan ware,
sea-eagle talons & a polished stone macehead
It would seem that, at some of the cairns at least,
the final ritual involved filling the chambers and passages
with rubble. Many tombs were clearly infilled before
they were finally abandoned and that was probably the
case with the rest of them as well. If so, this would
have disturbed whatever cultural material they contained.
It is important to remember that the tombs were revisited
and used for several centuries before they were finally
sealed, and that the finds represent the state of the
chamber at the end of this period—either a steady
accumulation of material or the final episode in a series
of episodes.
Human
Remains
|
|
Due
to the acidic soil conditions, bone is rather
poorly preserved in most Orcadian tombs. Some
chambers contained very little or none at all
while elsewhere it only survives on paved floors
or shelves. Even so, it is clear that there were
wide differences from tomb to tomb in the number
of individuals interred. There can be as few as
two or three and as many as several hundred. Analysis
of the material is hampered by the fact that most
of what has survived was recovered in Victorian
times and there is virtually no record of the
circumstances of their recovery.
In
cases where the bones have been analyzed, all
age and sex groups are represented—males
and females; adults, adolescents and children
as young as two years old. Life expectancy in
Neolithic Orkney was something on the |
order of twenty to twenty-five years—a very young
population. Life was hard and the bones show evidence
of osteoarthritis and degenerative disease of the spine,
the result of carrying heavy loads.
| Among
the tombs that have been more thoroughly examined
there seems to be some variation in the treatment
of the deceased. While there were a number of articulated
skeletons at some sites, meaning the bodies were
intact when they were placed inside, the majority
of the remains are fragmentary and incomplete. In
some cases, special treatment was accorded to the
skulls of the deceased, which were kept separate
from the rest of the remains. The intact burials
were found in the crouched position, lying on benches
or shelves, while the rest of the bones were either
gathered into heaps or placed in the end compartments
or cells. The usual interpretation is that the latter
represented the remains of earlier burials that
were swept aside to make room for the latest arrivals.
However, it is possible that at some sites the bodies
of the deceased had been exposed somewhere else
until the flesh rotted away. The loose bones were
then collected and brought to the tomb. This process
is known as excarnation and would explain why many
of the smaller bones are missing. |
Burial
Platform of the Plains Indians (photo
by Edward S. Curtis) |
|
Of
course, it is also possible that relics such as these
were removed from the cairn for ritual or ceremonial
purposes long after the original burial.
Animal
Remains
Animal bones have been found in 11 chambers but they
are normally not numerous nor have they been thoroughly
studied except at Isbister. They represent mainly sheep
and cattle but there is some red deer as well. From
the types of bones that survive it would appear that
joints meat were brought into the chamber, presumably
as food offerings. Isbister also produced the remains
of at least 8 sea eagles, which may have been the totem
animal of that particular group, and an abundance of
fish bones. Elsewhere, the animals are generally the
same but with different species dominating the assemblage
at different sites.
Artefacts
|
A
selection of bowls from the tomb at Unstan |
Grave
goods are not exactly plentiful and consist largely
of broken pottery, including Unstan ware, along
with some flint. Since sherds from complete vessels
are very rare, either some of them were subsequently
removed or the pots were broken elsewhere. They
presumably held food and drink but for whom remains
a mystery—possibly to sustain the deceased
in the afterlife or to propitiate the spirits
of the dead. Alternatively, it may have been consumed
by the mourners at the deceased’s wake.
While
the amount of pottery varies from tomb to tomb,
Unstan Ware is typical of stalled cairns and other
tombs of the Orkney-Cromarty tradition. The most
distinctive shape is a shallow, round-based bowl
with a fairly high collared rim. The rim is often
decorated with patterns of slanting lines or triangles
made by incision or stab-and-drag. The largest
collections come from Unstan itself, from Isbister
and from Taversoe Tuick and include many plain
bowls and jars with simple rims. The latter are
more functional and not as well made as the decorated
vessels. They probably represent everyday ware
while the finer vessels were reserved for ritual
purposes. The pottery found at Isbister contained
some forms not found elsewhere and may be later
than that found elsewhere.
|
Other
small finds include stone axes, fine flint knives
and leaf-shaped arrowheads. These items were probably
deliberately placed in the tomb but it is difficult
to be sure with some of the other material, mostly
everyday flint implements—blades, scrapers,
etc.—that might have been accidentally introduced
(midden material?). Personal objects—bone
pins, shell necklaces and that sort of thing—are
extremely rare for the period that the tomb was
in use. However, they have been found in the passageway
or in the fill associated with the blocking of
the tomb. It is difficult to say whether their
inclusion was accidental or not. What is certain
is that much if not all of it tends to be associated
with Grooved Ware and is therefore later.
(Right)
Flint Knife from Midhowe |
|
|
