Corrigall basement

The basement of Corrigall ( English Earthhouse - German  called Erdhaus ) in Nessbreck in Harray (an administrative unit) on the Orkney island of Mainland in Scotland was excavated in 2007 under the direction of Judith Robertson. In the case of the basement , a basic distinction is made between "rock-cut", "earth-cut", "stone built" and "mixed" basements.

The underground structure came to light during fieldwork south of the Corrigall Farm. The Orkney earth houses usually consist of a corridor leading to a chamber. A handful of these sites were examined in the 19th century, but the two best-preserved examples, Grain Earth House and Rennibister , also left questions unanswered.

The chamber is roughly oval, measures around 2.8 × 2.5 m, is 1.12 m deep and has a thin clay bottom . Ceramic shards found date from the early Iron Age (700–500 BC). It is typical of Orcadian earth houses that the structure provides few artifacts. The rock-cut chamber has an approximately 0.6 m thick stone roof that is supported by four larger stone blocks that are located in the chamber and have no connection with the chamber walls. In order to compensate for unevenness and heights, the cuboids are supplemented by layers of stone above and below in a typical orcadian manner. Integrated into the roof are two large panels, arranged back to back, each with a pair of side notches. The chamber is entered via a 1.5 m long 0.83 m high inclined corridor which meets the center of the chamber in the southeast. It was blocked by rubble, rubbish and stones.

It may be that a rock decoration was positioned between the two southern pillars. However, further analysis is necessary before it can be confirmed that the picked pattern does not consist solely of tool marks.

Martin Carruthers, who studied Orkney's underground structures (three years in the basement of Windwick on South Ronaldsay ), says the chambers had to do with rituals, especially for the dead, and are not storage facilities as previously believed.

See also

• Basement in Scotland

literature

• Frederick T. Wainwright: Souterrains in Scotland. In: Antiquity. Vol. 27, No. 108, 1953, ISSN  0003-598X , pp. 219-232, doi : 10.1017 / S0003598X00025084 .
• Jürgen E. Walkowitz: The megalithic syndrome. European cult sites of the Stone Age (= contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. Vol. 36). Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach 2003, ISBN 3-930036-70-3 .

Web links

• Description Engl. and pictures
• Entry on Corrigall Basement  in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database

Coordinates: 59 ° 3 '9.7 "  N , 3 ° 10' 42.3"  W.