Vestra Fiold Enclosure, Quarry and Cairn 430m W of Hillcrest Sandwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland, UK
Scheduled Monument Description
© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.
The monument comprises the remains of a prehistoric monolith quarry and a horned long cairn both dating to the Neolithic (probably third millennium BC) and a prehistoric enclosure dating probably to the late Neolithic or Bronze Age (late third to second millennium BC). The monument is located on the S-facing slope of Vestra Fiold Hill, at between 50m and 100m above sea level. It has extensive views in all southwards-facing directions.
The enclosure is irregular in form and measures approximately 275m E to W by up to 300m transversely. The turf-covered enclosure bank is built of earth and stone with edge-set stones at irregular intervals. In the centre of the enclosure is a low mound approximately 4m in diameter with two edge-set slabs visible. The prehistoric quarry is located NE of the enclosure and comprises a series of quarry faces trending WSW-ENE from which monoliths have been quarried, together with associated evidence for their working and transportation; at least five monoliths are still present on the site. The long cairn, located NE of the quarry, is visible as a low elongated oval mound of earth and stone. It measures approximately 22.5m NE-SW by 15m transversely and stands up to 1.5m high with horns on its NE façade. Animal bone from its construction levels has been radiocarbon dated to between 2800 and 2500 BC. The monument was first scheduled in 1940, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.
The scheduled area is irregular on plan to include the remains described above and areas around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground elements of all post-and-wire fences to allow for their maintenance.
Scheduled Monument Statement of Significance
© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.
The monument is of national importance because of its potential to make a significant addition to our understanding of prehistoric Orkney, specifically, prehistoric monolith quarrying, the construction and use of enclosures and burial monuments, and prehistoric ceremony and ritual. The quarry, with cut monoliths still present, supplied stones for both the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness, connecting it to these two exceptionally important components of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site. The horned cairn is of unusual construction and appears to be broadly contemporary with the quarry and, therefore, the stone circles in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney. The unusual enclosure survives to a marked degree. Its diagnostic bank is clearly visible around most of the circuit and has produced significant quantities of cramp, perhaps indicative of ritual or funerary activities. The multi-phase and multi-purpose elements of this site indicate that this was a significant place for the communities of prehistoric Orkney. Its position in the landscape and the low impact of subsequent land-use mean that important archaeological and palaeoenvironmental deposits and features are highly likely to be preserved. Our understanding of the form and function of prehistoric enclosures, monolith quarries and burial monuments would be diminished if this site was to be lost or damaged.
Scheduled Monument References
© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.
Other Information
RCAHMS records the monument as HY22SW 7, 8, 10.
References
Callander, J G 1935-6, 'Bronze Age urns of clay from Orkney & Shetland with a note on vitreous material called 'cramp'', Proc Soc Antiq Scot 70, 441'52.
Davidson, J L and Henshall, A S 1989, The chambered cairns of Orkney: an inventory of the structures and their contents, Edinburgh, 185-6, no 79.
Photos-Jones, E, Smith, B B, Hall, A J and Jones, R E 2007, 'On the intent to make cramp: an interpretation of vitreous seaweed cremation 'waste' from prehistoric burial sites in Orkney, Scotland', Oxford Journal of Archaeology 26, 1'23.
RCAHMS 1946, The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Twelfth report with an inventory of the ancient monuments of Orkney and Shetland, 3v, Edinburgh, 259, 269, nos 687, 727 and 728.
Richards, C 2002, 'Vestra Fiold, Orkney (Sandwick parish), Neolithic quarry; chambered cairn', Discovery Excav Scot 3, 88.
Richards, C, Brown, J, Jones, S, Hall, A, and Muir, T 2013, 'Monumental Risk: megalithic quarrying at Staneyhill and Vestra Fiold, Mainland, Orkney', in Richards, C (ed) Building The Great Stone Circles of the North, Windgarther Press, Oxford, 119-148.
Richards, C, Downes, J, Ixer, R, Hambleton, E, Peterson, R and Pollard, J 2013, 'Surface over substance: the Vestra Fiold horned cairn, Mainland, Setter cairn, Eday, and a reappraisal of the late Neolithic funerary architecture', in Richards, C (ed) Building The Great Stone Circles of the North, Windgarther Press, Oxford, 149-185.