Egmondshowe and the funerary landscape around Elsness, Sanday

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

“The large ‘pictshouse’ on Elsness is spelt Augmund Howe on the map but is locally pronounced Egmondshowe.”

Hugh Marwick. Antiquarian Notes on Sanday (1923)

Egmondshowe from the shore in 2018. (SCAPE) — Egmondshowe from the shore in 2018. (📷 SCAPE)

By Sigurd Towrie

Trying to piece together details of a site based on scant antiquarian accounts and early excavations is difficult. With the Quoyness chambered cairn this is exacerbated by a historical confusion between two distinct mounds on Sanday’s Elsness peninsula.

In his Quoyness excavation report, Childe ascribed the name “Augmond’s (sic) Howe” to the chambered cairn. He had no doubt that the cairn was “erroneously called the Broch of Quoyness by the transfer of its proper name Augmond’s Howe…” [1]

It was, he wrote, “correctly described in the New Statistical Account by Dr Wood…but ignored by later writers until the visit of the Royal Commission.” [1]

But was it correctly described?

No.

Placenames tend to be tenacious in Orkney. The spellings might change but “correct” pronunciations usually survive. Until people unfamiliar with these landscapes started trying to document them, placenames were, unsurprisingly, firmly fixed.

Long before Farrer turned his attention to it, the Quoyness cairn, was known as the Brough o’ Quoyness – brough from the Old Norse borg, meaning fortress. This, and the form of the mound, was undoubtedly the reason Farrer thought he was digging into an Iron Age broch. [2]

Although we now refer to the Neolithic structure as Quoyness, that name actually refers to the area in which the cairn stands – hence the use of “Brough o(f) Quoyness”. I have no doubt that this was how the site was known during Farrer’s investigation and continued to be afterwards. George Petrie, who accompanied Farrer and documented his exploits, was an Orcadian and highly unlikely to use an incorrect name.

Augmond’s Howe is a separate site – a long-time chambered tomb candidate lying some 60 metres to the south of the Quoyness cairn.

The New Statistical Account entry cited by Childe was penned by the Sanday minister Rev Walter Traill and published in 1845. In it Traill quoted Dr Wood – “an ingenious medical gentleman, who practised several years in Sanday”. [3]

In Childe’s defence, it is not difficult to see how he confused the two, given the discrepancies in Wood’s account:

“In the northern extremity of this cape [Elsness], there is a burgh or fort called Augmund’s Howe. It is now in ruins and overgrown with grass and weeds. It is situated close by the beach, and has been surrounded to landward, by a circle of upright stones. On the east side, where the ground is low, there is a semi-circular terrace, the outer edge of which is formed also by stones set upright. The height of the fort is about 18 feet.”

He added:

“There is another burgh, a little to the westward of Augmund’s Howe, also built close by the beach, but considerably less than the former. On the north-west side, there is a circular enclosure of about an acre, which has, at one time, been under cultivation, and has given the name of Quoyness to this building.” [my emphasis]

Wood clearly refers to two distinct mounds – Augmund’s Howe and Quoyness.

So why did Childe conclude that the Augmund’s Howe must relate to the chambered cairn he was excavating. Was he, and others over the years, wrong?

I suspect so, after all George Petrie had no doubt about the Quoyness name. But to confuse matters, elements of Wood’s account at best don’t make sense or, at worst, are wrong!

He referred, for example, to Augmund’s Howe being at the “northern extremity” of Elsness, which it is not. The mound sits on the south-eastern shore of the peninsula, south of the Quoyness cairn.

Wood also stated that his Quoyness building was not only smaller than Augmund’s Howe but lay to its west – neither of which can be applied to the Quoyness chambered cairn. It is also difficult to see how a site “a little westwards” of either could also be “built close by the beach”.

This leads me to wonder whether Wood’s Quoyness was a now lost monument – one distinct to Farrer’s “Brough of Quoyness”. The problem with that interpretation is that Wood would surely not ignore the huge mound we now know contained the Quoyness cairn.

That said, his description of the upright stones bounding an external platform at Augmund’s Howe is suggestive of Quoyness – nothing resembling this can be seen around the mound now – but that’s not to say it wasn’t there in Wood’s day.

There are other discrepancies, but, for now, the fact Wood described a “wall” running north-west of Augmund’s Howe means he can only be referring to the southern mound. And it’s that mound, and enclosing bank, we’ll looking at today.

Egmondshowe

In 1879/80, Sanday folk supplied Ordnance Survey with the names they knew sites by and those remain today. Well, almost…

Adding to the confusion is the fact that the name Augmund/Augmond’s Howe is also incorrect – a 19^th century fabrication that was presumably an attempt to interpret/aggrandise the name the eroding mound was known by locally – Egmondshowe.

As the Orcadian historian Hugh Marwick pointed out in his 1923 Antiquarian Notes on Sanday:

“The large ‘pictshouse’ on Elsness is spelt Augmund Howe on the map but is locally pronounced Egmondshowe.” [4]

Names aside, what was Egmondshowe?

Today it is a denuded mound on Elsness, 60 metres to the south of the Quoyness chambered cairn. Perched on the edge of an eroding stretch of coastline, much of Egmondshowe’s seaward side has been lost to the elements and continues to deteriorate.

It was long considered to be remains of a Maeshowe-type chambered cairn, like Quoyness to the north. But was it? That’s a question that has been pondered for decades.

Because of the confusion over its name, it is difficult to unpick details from the few historical accounts.

In 1820, the mound was said to be 5.5m high [5], but by 1960, had been reduced to a mere 1.5 metres. A survey suggested Egmondshowe had a diameter of c18m, and a “mass of stones” interpreted as the remains of a chamber. These measurements, however, are contradicted by a survey in 1970, which stated that the mound’s surviving western half was 23m, north to south, by 11m and stood 2.2m high. It also indicated that there was “no definite indication of a chamber”.

Orkney’s county archaeologist, Raymond Lamb, wrote that Egmondshowe had “been severely attacked [by erosion] and its centre has been scoured out by the sea.” [2]

The grand doyen of Scottish chambered cairns, Audrey Henshall, was not convinced, agreeing in 1983 that: “The exposures do not suggest that the cairn was chambered”.

So, who knows.

While Neolithic origins may be open to debate, there is no doubt Egmondshowe sat within a landscape associated with the prehistoric dead.

Egmondshowe (bottom right) in 1983. The enclosure bank can be seen running from left to right (http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1929209)

The howe is enclosed by a substantial bank that presumably once ran around the entire mound. Today, coastal erosion has obliterated the eastern side so only a much-reduced section survives to the west. Associated with it are 11 large mounds, described by Dr Wood in the 18^th century as “forts” [3]:

“From Augmund’s Howe, there may be traced the remains of a wall thickly studded with circular forts, running to the north-west across the Ness, and thus enclosing fully a third of the whole Ness.

“These small forts on the wall are now only ruinous cairns. They are all, or most of them, placed on the inside of the wall. The few on the outside seem to have been so placed for security’s sake, as they are uniformly on gentle risings.

“The wall does not run in a straight line, but has several curves, to avoid low spots of ground which are, in winter, covered with water.” [3]

As well as the perimeter “forts”, there were also mounds in the area defined by the bank:

“The enclosed space is literally covered with tumuli and heaps of ruins. None of those now remaining are of great size. The largest have been levelled and ploughed over.”

Wood added:

“Most of these tumuli which have been opened, contained burned stones, ashes, bones, and seashells. In some of them, were graves lined with flat stones. An axe, said to be of bone, was found some years ago, but was destroyed by the ignorant people who found it. An arrow or spearhead was also found at the same time. It is of stone, three inches long and lozenge shaped. The point is broken off. Many such articles might have been discovered, had proper persons superintended the removal of the tumuli.”

From Wood’s account of the site and the finds, it does seem likely that the Egmondshowe and its enclosure represents a Bronze Age cemetery. One of the smaller mounds was excavated in 1970 and found to contain two cists with human remains. [5]

But the mounds contained more than just bone:

“A number of the smaller heaps within the walls are formed of what the country people call cramp and are said by them to have been used as places of sacrifice. For whatever purpose they were used, it is plain they must have been the sites of strong and long-continued fires.” [3]

As Wood points out, cramp is an Orcadian dialect word, defined as “small heaps of vitrified glass and stones found in ancient tumuli.” A vitreous, lightweight material, because cramp is often found stuck to burnt bone it is generally associated with Bronze Age cremations.

Are we looking at an enclosed pyre site? A place where the dead were cremated and buried?

Possibly. But the cremation fires may have been elsewhere as we know, from excavation, that pyre material was incorporated into burials. [6]

Writing in 1773, Rev George Low described the composition of some “hillocks” found in Orkney, which contained:

“…quantities of matter like kelp or scoriae from the forge, in which are seen mixed pieces of bones, but whether human or not I cannot determine; these, however, had no inclosure of stones, and were only laid in heaps and covered with earth.” [7]

What it without doubt is that the enclosed area around Egmondshowe was a focus for burial. While this has long been assumed to be Bronze Age, we know that cist burials were a feature of the Orcadian Neolithic. Across Orkney we also know that Bronze Age people returned to earlier Neolithic cairns to deposit their dead (e.g. Bookan, Cuween) and that these, and others, became a focus.

If Egmondshowe was indeed a Neolithic chambered cairn, it may be the reason that area of the headland was selected for a Bronze Age cemetery. Alternatively, the mound may represent a primary burial, or burials, that represented a group or family over a period of time.

1981 plan of Elsness showing Egmondshowe in relation to Quoyness and the mass of Bronze Age mounds in the area. (http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1410416) — 1981 plan of Elsness showing Egmondshowe in relation to Quoyness and the mass of Bronze Age mounds in the area.
(http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1410416)

The Edmondshowe mounds are, however, just the tip of the iceberg and it seems likely that the entire Elsness peninsula was once a massive burial site. The western and north-western areas are still covered with mounds, although there were undoubtedly once many more – casualties of erosion and land improvement.

In 1996, a survey by Professor Jane Downes identified and recorded 26 large barrows. These and the 11 around Egmondshowe make Elsness home to the largest group of barrows in Orkney. Prof Downes wrote: “Considering the level of survival of this field of barrows and its associations this site is of great importance.” [8]

Although the surrounding activity suggests a Bronze Age date for Egmondshowe, it remains possible that it, like others in Orkney, was originally a Neolithic monument that was later adopted/adapted. Whatever the scenario, there is no doubt that the coastal mound became the focus for a cluster of Bronze Age burials – a group that were just part of an extensive cemetery that covered most of the headland.

A note on the placenames

Elsness – Ness is, as usual, from Old Norse nes, meaning headland or peninsula. The first element is uncertain. The name is first recorded recorded as Hellisnes in 1500, which suggests a connection with ON hellir, a cave. That interpretation, however, makes no sense given the topography of the area. Hugh Marwick suggested it derived from ON eldr, meaning fire, citing Wood’s account that the mounds of cramp were considered to be “places of sacrifice” and that “it is plain they must have been the sites of strong and long-continued fires.”

Quoyness – Ness, as above. Quoy from ON kví, enclosure. It is tempting to suggest the name related to the prehistoric enclosures on the peninsula, of which only a section of the one surrounding Egmondshowe remains visible today.

Egmondshowe – The first element is presumably a personal name, Ogmund/Augmund. Howe is common and derives from haugr, a (burial) mound. Who this Ogmund was and how they became associated with a prehistoric mound is not known, but it follows a pattern we see throughout Orkney, e.g. Robbie’s Knowe, in Birsay.

Notes

[1] Childe, V. G. (1954) Re-excavation of the Chambered Cairn of Quoyness, Sanday, on behalf of the Ministry of Works, 1951-2. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (Vol 86, pp 121-139).
[2] Farrer, J. (1868) Note of Excavations in Sanday, one of the North Isles of Orkney. In Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Volume 7 (1866-68).
[3] Traill, W. (1845) New Statistical Account of Scotland: Parish of Lady, Sanday, Orkney.
[4] Marwick, H. (1923) Antiquarian Notes on Sanday. In Proceedings of the Orkney Antiquarian Society (Vol. 1, pp. 1922-23).
[5] Lamb, R.G. (1980) An archaeological survey of two of the North Isles of Orkney: Sanday and North Ronaldsay.
Edinburgh: RCAHMS.
[6] Downes, J. and Thomas, A. (2013) Where mythical space lies: land ownership versus land use in the northern Bronze Age. In An Archaeology of Land Ownership (pp. 70-92). Routledge.
[7] Low, G. (1879) Tour through the islands of Orkney and Schetland in 1774. (Ed. Joseph Anderson) Kirkwall
[8] https://canmore.org.uk/site/3410/sanday-elsness