Fort Yields Facts

Windwick Bay, South Ronaldsay, Orkney was once the site of an Iron Age fort which performed a defensive and, perhaps, domestic function for centuries. Recent investigations, reported in The Orcadian, have yielded some interesting finds. A steatite or soapstone fragment of pottery suggests a Norwegian source and the discovery of a hearth which has been subjected to archaeomagnetic dating. These point to connections with the Norse people in 600 AD. Although earlier than the main influx of the Vikings, it shows that there were probably sporadic settlements and links from across the waters to the east. Full details of this, The Cairns Project, give insights.

Scottish Islands Explorer - copies will one day be unearthed