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Isbister.
Tomb & Cliffs
The
tomb is located near the edge of a high cliff on the
east coast of South Ronaldsay. The existence of the
tomb was revealed in 1958 when the landowner, Ronald
Simison, began to remove stone to build a fence and
immediately came upon a cache of objects that were
all neolithic in date. In the absence of any ‘official’
interest excavations were resumed by Simison in the
1970’s using techniques he had learned from
observing the work of Colin Renfrew and John Hedges
at the Bronze Age site of Liddle, also on his property.
These later excavations showed that the site had been
disturbed, probably by earlier quarrying, and that
much of the superstructure had been removed—especially
on the seaward side.
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A four metre stretch of the entrance passage remains
where it enters the side of the burial chamber at
a slight angle from the east.. The burial chamber
is 8.2 metres long and between 1.2 and 1.6 metres
across with walls that still stand as high as 2
metres. It is an unusual hybrid, containing features
of both Maes Howe and Stalled tombs. The unpaved
central part of the tomb has been divided into three
compartments but the distinction is minimal since,
at best, the uprights only project a few centimetres
from the wall. The two end compartments, on the
other hand, are very clearly set apart from the
rest of the tomb. They are about 60 cm wider and
there are stone sills about 30 cm high at their
entrances. There was a terminal slab in each and
they were provided with flagstone shelves set well
over a metre above the floor. Some human and animal
bones had been left, presumably as a foundation
deposit, in a cavity beneath the single flagstone
that formed the floor of the southern compartment,
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Excavated
tomb showing outer edge, entrance passage and
side cell
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the northern one had been completely cleared at some
point in the recent past. As at Unstan, there are side
cells—two on the west side and one on the east.
In each case, a short, low passage leads from the main
chamber to an irregularly shaped space about 1 metre
deep and between 1.5 and 2 metres across. Unfortunately,
the eastern cell had been emptied, presumably at the
same time as the other areas but the northern one had
been completely cleared at some point in the recent
past. As at Unstan, there are side cells—two on
the west side and one on the east that had also been
emptied. In each of them, a short, low passage leads
to an irregularly shaped space about 1 metre deep and
between 1.5 and 2 metres across.
Isbister.
Plan & Sections
Although the upper levels of the main chamber had been
badly disturbed a lot of material, including human and
animal bone along with cultural material, was recovered
lower down. Most of the human bones came from the floor
and were mainly found in heaps along the walls—a
skull along with an assortment of other bones in each
pile. The two excavated cells, on the other hand, contained
mainly skulls.
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Heaps
of bone in the Main Chamber
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Skulls
in one of the side cells
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Altogether,
the remains of some 338 individuals were recovered and
there had presumably been many more in the in the areas
that had been emptied. Among the skeletons whose sex
could be determined, 93 were male and 38 female. They
range in age from foetal to about 50—185 adults,
62 teenagers, 70 children and 14 infants/foetal. Only
about 5 per cent were over the age of 40.
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A
fair amount of pottery, including typical Unstan
bowls, was discovered in the tomb, mainly on
the area of floor opposite the entrance. In
addition, several flint scrapers were found
and along simple jewellery—beads of shell
and bone. Animal bones, principally from domesticated
species (sheep and, to a lesser extent, cattle),
were also recovered from the tomb. The most
interesting finds, however, were the remains
of eight white-tailed eagles that had been interred
as whole carcasses in the central part of the
chamber. The most obvious conclusion was that
the eagle was the totem animal of the group
who built the tomb, which is commonly known
as the “Tomb of the Eagles.”
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Macehead,
jet button and polished stone tools
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More careful investigations of the cairn have shown
that there were two wall faces within the body of the
stonework and revealed about a ten metre stretch of
the outer revetment at the northern end. A part of what
is presumably the same wall on the western side of the
mound stood to a height of about 3 metres above the
floor of the tomb. It is estimated that the original
edifice measured approximately 11 x 16 metres. At some
point after the tomb was erected, a straightish wall
of rubble and dressed masonry was built running off
to the NNE—it has been speculated that this might
have been one of a pair of “hornworks” enclosing
a sort of forecourt for the tomb. In fact, no trace
of a corresponding wall heading south has been found
but the topography more or less fills the bill.
Later still, the tomb was encased in a rubble mound,
held in place by a low wall ca. two metres thick. The
eastern side of it has been quarried away but it must
have been about 30 or so metres across, enclosing the
cairn equally in all directions. The associated material—including
ground stone axes, a mace head and a jet button with
a V-bored perforation—is characteristic of a later
phase of the Neolithic, when stone circles dominated
the sacred landscape and Maes Howe tombs were the norm.
It looks as though the old tomb was decommissioned but
suitably commemorated at the same time.
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Tomb
of the Eagles after excavation
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