Newark basement

The basement of Newark is located near Newark Bay on the Deerness Peninsula on the Orkney island of Mainland in Scotland . In the case of the basement, a basic distinction is made between "rock-cut", "earth-cut", "stone built" and "mixed" basements.

Primarily known as the site of a Nordic chapel from the 10th century, the site called "New Wark of Deerness" in the 16th century is also the site of two basements . Apart from the synopsis for RCAHMS NMRS data record no. HY50SE 3 there are no publications on this. The 10th century chapel, dated by coins under the ground, was excavated in the 1970s by Don Bothwell who found some Norse skeletons. A fortified laird house was built over the chapel in the 16th or 17th centuries.

The source only covers parts of the excavation, but includes the diaries with plans from 1969–70. There the basement appears as a tunnel with a chamber with a skeleton on a platform, about 15 m from the chapel. The NMRS, on the other hand, has shown a length of about 10.0 m before the long curved corridor ends at the cliff. The basement is open at the top, but filled with stones on the western side. Its course begins at the back and then goes at a slight angle to the chapel wall.

According to the 1969 plan, the other earth house is a pillar-supported structure, similar to that in Yinstay , made of earth with irregular stones.

See also

• Basement in Scotland

literature

• KA Steedman: The Archeology of the Deerness Peninsula, Orkney. Durham 1980, pp. 48-49, (Durham, University of Durham - Department of Archeology, undergraduate dissertation (BA), 1980, unpublished; Copy in Orkney Library).
• Anna Ritchie: Orkney and Shetland (= Exploring Scotland's Heritage. ). Published for Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland by HMSO, Edinburgh 1985, ISBN 0-11-492458-9 , No. 70.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated December 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Web links

• Description Engl. and pictures

Coordinates: 58 ° 55 ′ 20.4 "  N , 2 ° 44 ′ 25.8"  W.