The Overbigging enclosure – an ‘elaborate and rather enigmatic monument’

Thursday, April 10, 2025 (10:06 AM)

Overbigging, Stenness. (📷 Canmore) — The Overbigging enclosure (bottom left) with Maeshowe (top right). (📷 https://canmore.org.uk/collection/1143399)

By Sigurd Towrie

Although our knowledge of the sites on and around the Ness of Brodgar has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years, some remain frustratingly unclear.

One that falls into that category is a huge ditch-and-bank enclosure, near Overbigging, Stenness, about 480 metres north-west of Maeshowe.

First recorded by aerial photography in 1965 [1], the site was not investigated until the start of the 21st century, when the UHI Archaeology Institute geophysically surveyed 285 hectares of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site.

This revealed:

“[A]n elaborate and rather enigmatic monument, which invites speculation as to its character and origins.” [2]

Centuries of agricultural work have reduced the monument to a low, oval earthwork, barely visible from ground-level. It measures 68 metres across (NNW to SSE) by 65 metres and was surrounded by a three-metre-wide ditch, with an entrance, about eight metres wide, at the SSE.

To put its size into context, the ditch surrounding the Stones of Stenness had an approximate diameter of 44 metres, the Ring of Bookan 45m by 40m, while Maeshowe’s oval enclosure is c.106 metres by 93 metres.

Gradiometer interpretation of the Overbigging enclosure and environs. (📷 Brend et al. Landscapes Revealed. 2020) — Gradiometer interpretation of the Overbigging enclosure and environs. (📷 Brend *et al*. *Landscapes Revealed*. 2020)

Although few folk know of it today, Overbigging was:

“… unquestionably a prominent monument in the Stenness–Brodgar area.” [2]

It sits at the end of a natural ridge, the ground sloping gently downwards around the south-western end. Another low ridge runs north-west to south-east towards Maeshowe:

“Sitting in a locally eminent location, with an open aspect in all directions save the east-north-east, Overbigging would have been a prominent feature on the local horizon from much of the lower lying ground around it, a monumental presence that is not conveyed by its present reduced condition.” [2]

Overbigging’s interior was further defined by a substantial bank, 8.5-9.5 metres across, with a six-metre-wide entrance at the SSE. This enclosed an area c.70 square metres.

If we follow the classic typology, it seems we have a Class One henge, featuring a single entrance, single bank and a single ditch circuit. But although the Overbigging enclosure fits the accepted classification nicely, it does not really tell us much about its role or purpose.

What we can say, based on the magnetometry scans, is that it was probably not a settlement site. Which, based on the nature of the surrounding landscape is probably not surprising.

A four-metre-wide pit, west of the enclosure’s centre, was visible in the geophysical scan results, as well as several smaller pits inside and outside. [2]

Two of these, at the southern end, appeared to correspond with a line of five pits noted by aerial survey in 1965. Although it would require excavation to confirm, it is difficult not to wonder whether these represent post-holes or sockets for standing stones:

“This characteristic of the site would have been emphasised by the lines of pits outside the entrance, which are comparable in size to the sockets created to secure the imposing monoliths that can still be seen across the wider Stenness–Brodgar landscape.” [2]

With Overbigging we face the same questions as at other so-called henge sites – the timing of the ditch and bank. Were they primary constructions or a much later addition? Perhaps created to contain, or emphasise, an earlier feature?

Aerial view of the enclosure, showing the rectangular feature in its interior. (📷 http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1143398) — Aerial view of the enclosure, showing the square feature in its interior. (📷 http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1143398)

And if the ditch and bank were specifically added to enclose something, what was it?

That we do not know, but just inside the entrance is a raised area, almost square-shaped, and measuring about 25 metres across. Without excavation, what this represents is unclear, but it does seem there was something substantial within.

Are we looking at another monumental Ness-type building, as has been proposed for both the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Bookan? Or something entirely different? Two curvilinear features were also noted, but these may reflect the natural topography.

“Though we cannot rule out occupation of a markedly different character here, the site as it appears in the gradiometer data is more comparable to nearby monuments such as the Ring of Bookan, Maeshowe and the Stones of Stenness, yet another variation on the more fundamental theme of enclosing/creating important spaces of assembly and ceremony during the Late Neolithic.” [2]

And how does Overbigging relate to Maeshowe? Was it contemporary or a much later addition to the landscape?

Despite its obvious henge-like features and proximity to Maeshowe, the nature of the entrance arrangement is reminiscent of Iron Age enclosures:

“Like the smaller ditched enclosure revealed in Trench T at the Ness of Brodgar, the character of the [Overbigging] site invites parallels with other enclosed settlements of the Iron Age and, perhaps, more specialised sites such as Minehowe.” [2]

Iron Age activity in the vicinity of already ancient Neolithic buildings is found throughout Orkney – the Quanterness chambered cairn; Big Howe, near the Stones of Stenness, and the Ness’ own revetted ditch are fine examples of that. Usually these later additions respected earlier prehistoric sites that were presumably chosen because of their association with the past.

With the Overbigging enclosure, however, we have to roll out our regular post conclusion…

It will take excavation to answer the questions.

Notes

[1] Carried out by J.K.S. St Joseph, of the Cambridge University Committee for Aerial Photography (CUCAP)
[2] Brend, A., Card, N., Downes, J., Edmonds, M. and Moore, J. (2020) Landscapes Revealed: Geophysical Survey in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Area 2002-2011. Oxbow Books, Oxford.