Westness Burial Ground
The burial ground of Westness (also called Moa Ness or Moaness) lies on a flat headland, opposite the island of Eynhallow on the southwest side of the Orkney island of Rousay in Scotland .
Findings
The women's grave
The women's grave near Swandrow was discovered in 1963 on a burial ground that was later investigated. Two Viking graves were found near the square in 1826 .
Two fibulae from the early 9th century were identified, a zoomorphic Celtic fibula dated to around AD 750, a bronze and some human bones that were sent to the National Museum.
Later investigations of the area indicated that the tomb was disturbed, but the remainder of the skeleton and parts of a baby's skeleton, about 40 pearls , a bone comb, fragments of a bronze bowl, bronze appliqués and pieces of iron implements pointing to a woman's grave were found. The sides of the tomb, which did not show any surface features, were apparently formed from horizontal panels.
More Viking graves
The grave examined in 1971 was only a few meters away from the woman's. It was set with stone slabs and dates from the early 10th century. It measured 2.25 x 1.12 m and contained 23 game pieces and the complete skeleton of a very large man who had been buried with a well-preserved shield. S. Hansen, the head of the excavation, believes that after the man's funeral, a woman and some animals were sacrificed on the grave. A third grave had been ransacked by rabbits and its nature indeterminate. Only leg and foot bones were found. There was possibly a fourth grave.
Further excavations of the Viking burial ground yielded 32 graves and older foundations. A boat grave with stone slabs piled up in the bow and stern area contained a male skeleton with weapons and tools. Five oval graves nearby contained jewelry, weapons, and tools. Other graves are from children. The C14 dates place the burial ground in the 9th century.
To the burial ground
The excavation of the burial ground of West Ness has Picts - and Viking graves of different types with and without grave goods uncovered. C14 dates prove the use of the burial ground from the 7th to 9th centuries AD. Skeletal analyzes show that the remains represent the dead of an entire community aged up to 50 years and up to a height of 1.7 m. The graves of the indigenous population, which are not visible on the surface today, had markings at the time of their creation that were respected by the Vikings. The Pictish burials without gifts lay in narrow and shallow graves, some of which were entirely or partially covered with plates.
The Viking graves were rectangular or oval. The oval graves were lined with panels and possibly covered, while the stone surround behind the head was a larger stone. Grave goods, which prove the status of the individual, included shield bosses , jewelry, weapons (ax, arrow, sword and spear), weaving accessories, tools (including sickles).
The boat graves
Two boat graves of 5.5 and 4.5 m in length were only recognized by the rivet pattern and the discoloration of the soil. The boat from grave II had a oarlock made of deer antler on the gunwale and a “vadbein” made of deer antler to guide the fishing line on the other gunwale. In both cases, the boat was deposited in a pit in the ground and stabilized with stones and clay on the outside before the amidships burial chamber was created. Each boat contained the corpse of a man accompanied by weapons (axes, arrows, shields and swords, in one case a spear) and tools. Both burials contained agricultural implements ( adzes , sickles ). One of the graves housed an oil lamp and a grindstone, the other a whalebone weight and a bone comb. An apparently unfinished and unused boat-shaped slab was found on the beach.
Prospecting results
Next to the Westness burial ground, an area of approximately one hectare was geophysically examined. The aim was to investigate potential archaeological relocations and, if necessary, to find further burial sites or to define the boundaries of the burial site more precisely. In a ditch at the southern tip of the headland, parts of a human skull accompanied by a fragment of a crest of bone were found. This find was interpreted as a burial that was probably disturbed by the Viking Age.
See also
literature
- Patrick J. Ashmore: Orkney burials in the first millennium AD. In: Jane Downes, Anna Ritchie (eds.): Sea Change. Orkney and Northern Europe in the later Iron Age AD 300-800. Pinkfoot, Balgavies 2003, ISBN 1-874012-38-5 , pp. 35-50, here pp. 36-37.
- Colleen Batey: Viking and late Norse re-use of broch mounds in Caithness. In: Beverley Ballin Smith, Iain Banks: In the shadow of the brochs. The Iron Age in Scotland. (A celebration of the work of Dr. Euan MacKie on the Iron Age of Scotland). Tempus, Stroud et al. 2002, ISBN 0-7524-2517-X , pp. 185-190, pp. 187-188.
- Barry Cunliffe : Facing the Ocean. The Atlantic and its peoples. 8000 BC - AD 1500. Oxford University Press, Oxford et al. 2001, ISBN 0-19-924019-1 .
Web links
- Entry on Westness Burial Ground in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database