The Bay of Skaill, Marwick Bay, and Birsay Bay form openings in the high
sandstone cliffs of Orkney's Atlantic coast. These west-facing bays have
long been favored locations for settlement, with access to the ocean, to
fresh water, to land and to resources for cultivation. The coastline of
Orkney's North-West Mainland is recognized worldwide as a location of
exceptional archaeological importance, dominated by the Neolithic world
heritage site of Skara Brae, and the Viking-Norse remains on the tidal
Brough of Birsay. Many of its archaeological sites have been exposed by
coastal erosion, a serious problem which continues its destructive
progress with every oceanic storm. Rescue excavation has contributed
essential data, but its resources have concentrated on the zone of
immediate threat, and until recently less has been understood about the
archaeology of the landscape that lies behind the eroding shore.
From 2003, a new archaeological research project began to investigate
the hinterlands of the three bays. Using the rapidly-developing
applications of archaeological geophysics, coupled with topographical
survey, it has sought to create a broader and better-informed landscape
context. Much of the land is dominated by windblown sand, at the Bay of
Skaill and Birsay Bay in particular, reflecting centuries of
environmental change, and requiring adaptive methodologies and
approaches. Several new areas of archaeological interest have been
identified, and many previously-known sites are now better-understood.
Excavation was used selectively to test the survey results. In one area
in particular, a cluster of large settlement mounds on the northern side
of the Bay of Skaill, two major Viking-Norse settlement clusters were
identified and investigated. These held exceptionally well-preserved
deposits, which have required detailed dating and analysis. The artifact
assemblages include evidence for ferrous metalworking along with iron
and copper alloy objects, combs, glass and amber beads, worked stone,
ceramics, and a range of archaeobotanical and archaeozoological remains.
A Viking silver hoard discovered in 1858 and a Viking grave uncovered in
1888 are revisited. This monograph brings together the survey and
excavation results, and tells a new story of an ancient landscape.
