Knowes o 'Trotty
Coordinates: 59 ° 2 '24 " N , 3 ° 8' 57.5" W.
The Knowes o 'Trotty (or Knowes o' Huntscarth) are one of the largest Bronze Age burial grounds in the British Isles . They are located in the parish of Harray, south of the village of Huntscarth near Bimbister in the middle of Mainland , the main island of Orkney in Scotland . The Knowes are 16 hills listed in two rows, which were primarily built between 2000 and 1600 BC. Were in use. Knowes o 'Trotty means "hill in the swamp". The stone mounds were built on natural elevations in order to increase the height effect.
The burial ground
Geophysical surveys in 2001 confirmed that the site contained at least two other burial mounds; There were probably as many as 20. The earth-covered stone mounds were built over stone boxes, flanked on both sides by a menhir . The menhirs in the hills do not yet have any parallels to the Orkney. Since they were structurally unnecessary, they can only have a symbolic meaning. Her position has affinity with Neolithic posts found in Stalled Cairns . However, they are separated in time from the Trotty burial ground by centuries.
Knowes o 'Trotty is the Orkney's oldest burial ground. It marks the transition from the practices of the Neolithic Age, when to a certain extent people were buried collectively in megalithic systems , to the also marginal individual cremation in stone boxes. Although the burial practice changed fundamentally, the Bronze Age finds point to continuity.
In the saddle between the two largest burial mounds, rows of fire pits dating from later times have been found. Rows or fields of fire pits are also a well-known phenomenon in northern Central Europe and southern Scandinavia . They are characterized by an exposed location in the area, proximity to bodies of water and a low density of finds.
The finds
The Knowes o 'Trotty are best known for the most spectacular archaeological find in Orkney history. In 1858 the largest of the mounds was excavated. The remains of four exquisitely designed gold disks were found in his stone box, along with the 27 amber beads of a necklace and a number of burned human bones. The find is incomparable to this day. The discs are circular foils made of gold, decorated with concentrically arranged conductor strips, lines and zigzag pattern strips. The largest, almost undamaged disc has a diameter of 76 mm and, like the others, was perforated in the middle. Further remains were found during a subsequent excavation in 2005.
Relation to Wessex
The gold disks could be decorative covers for buttons, similar to those found in Wessex in southern England . The slightly different style, however, indicates that the Wessex style was copied by a local craftsman. This, along with other Scottish Bronze Age finds, seems to suggest that the Wessex style was valued by the Orcadian elites of the time. The analysis also showed that the gold came from Scotland .
The design of the pearls from the excavation of 1858 is also in the Wessex style. This would mean that the chain, originally from prehistoric England, made it to Orkney at some point. It was probably passed down from generation to generation before it was deposited in the stone box. Their age is evident from the signs of wear and tear on the pearls. Regardless of whether the chain and the gold discs were made in Wessex or Orkney, it is clear that Orkney and England had an at least brief connection. This also explains that the cemetery follows a design that is also found around Stonehenge . Alison Sheridan of the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh believes that a group of Orcadians visited Wessex, or, more likely, Wessex people visited Orkney, exchanging ideas and gifts. The Ring of Brodgar , a Henge in Stenness, the model could be noisy Sheridan in return for the stone circle of Avebury have been.
Obviously, given the quality of the artifacts, the buried person was of high status. It is also unclear whether she was a woman or a man, although these necklaces are usually associated with women. This would also match the Wessex patterns found in the context of women's graves.