Region : Orkney Home
Island : Mainland Map
Town or village : Kirkwall List
Grid Reference : HY 397 125 Glossary
Period : 1st millennium BC Bibliography
Rennibister

SOUTERRAIN (EARTH-HOUSE)
Rennibister image

 
In this well preserved example of an Orkney earth-house (or souterrain), four stone pillars support the once corbelled roof. The centre of the photo shows the entrance passage, only 0.7m high and wide: to get down to the chamber it would have been necessary to crawl.
In the chamber's walls there are five small recesses.
When originally examined, the chamber's floor was unexpectedly covered with the bones of six adults and at least twelve children of both sexes.
The earth-house was discovered on 12 November 1926 when a threshing-machine broke its roof. It is interesting to note that this part of a prehistoric farm lies exactly on the same spot of a modern farm.
In care of Historic Scotland