Taversoe Tuick – the upper chamber

Friday, January 19, 2024

“The similarity of its plan and contents to those of Unstan at once establish its character as a collective burial chamber of the type currently termed Neolithic.”

Walter Grant. Excavations on behalf of HM Office of works at Taiverso Tuick. (1939)

Taversoe Tuick upper chamber and entrance. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

By Sigurd Towrie

Although there had been suggestions it was a later addition, Grant’s excavation confirmed the presence of an upper chamber that was part of the Taversoe Tuick’s original design:

“The excavations … in 1937 have conclusively established that the upper construction was really a burial vault belonging to the same archaeological period as the lower by the recovery of its complete plan, and particularly by the discovery of an entrance passage, previously blocked.” [1]

Built directly on top, the walls of the upper storey partially rested on the lintels of the lower chamber’s roof, which also formed part of the upper floor.

Plan of the upper chamber after excavation. (Marwick. Ancient Monuments in Orkney. 1952) — Plan of the upper chamber after excavation. (Marwick. *Ancient Monuments in Orkney*. 1952)

Elevation drawing of the two chambers from the south. (Grant. Excavations on behalf of HM Office of works at Taiverso Tuick. 1939) — Elevation drawing of the two chambers from the south. (Grant. *Excavations on behalf of HM Office of works at Taiverso Tuick*. 1939)

Side elevation of the Taversoe Tuick after re-excavation. (Grant. Excavations on behalf of HM Office of works at Taiverso Tuick. 1939) — Side elevation of the Taversoe Tuick after re-excavation. (Grant. *Excavations on behalf of HM Office of works at Taiverso Tuick*. 1939)

Access was by a north-facing, paved passage, 3.4 metres long, 0.9m wide and 0.9m high, which led into the eastern end of a sub-rectangular chamber c2.8m long by 2m wide.

Directly opposite the entrance was a rectangular recess (0.6m wide by 1.4 metres and roofed to c0.7m) while a small, horseshoe-shaped cell lay at the east end.

Measuring just 1.3m by 1.2m, and with corbelled walls, the eastern cell was defined by two projecting masonry piers that created a very small passage leading to an entrance flanked by a pair of stone slabs. The floor of the eastern compartment was 18cm lower than the main chamber.

Upper chamber plan, with northern entrance passage at the top. (Redrawn after Davidson & Henshall. 1989)

As you will see from the plan, there are distinct differences between the layout of the Taversoe chamber and its stalled neighbours.

These saw it designated a Bookan-type structure, a style named after the Bookan chambered cairn on the Ness of Brodgar, Stenness.

Like the more common Orkney-Cromarty stalled cairns, the upper chamber did feature orthostats. But while those in stalled cairns divided the interiors into distinct compartments, at the Taversoe Tuick they protruded a mere 20cm from the walls at one end of the chamber.

As such they are nowhere near as imposing as the rows of “doorways” found at Midhowe and Unstan, for example.

Because of this, the excavators dismissed the possibility they represented dividers:

“As far as they survive, the inner faces of the masonry are almost flush with the edges of the uprights, so that the latter do not effectively serve either to divide the chamber into compartments or to frame stalls.” [1]

The floor, which also served as the roof of the lower chamber, was made up of five massive stone lintels, which had been levelled off using clay. Today, access to the lower chamber is via a ladder through a gap left between lintels during the consolidation work.

The remains of the upper chamber, viewed from the west side looking towards the eastern, horseshoe-shaped cell. The entrance passage is pictured left with modern access ladder to the lower chamber. (📷 Sigurd Towrie) — The remains of the upper chamber, viewed from the west side looking towards the eastern, horseshoe-shaped cell. The entrance passage is pictured left with the modern access ladder to the lower chamber in the centre of the photograph. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

The eastern cell, with portal stones, to the left and the roofed cell directly opposite the entrance. (📷 Sigurd Towrie) — The eastern cell, with portal stones, to the left and the roofed rectangular recess directly opposite the entrance. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

The upper chamber was contained within a stone cairn bounded by a retaining wall. Tracing the path of this wall, the evidence suggested there was once a stepped recess on the western side of the outer entrance passage.

Taversoe Tuick Plan — Section of the Taversoe Tuick plan showing the stepped recess at the outer end of the upper entrance passage.
(Grant. *Excavations on behalf of HM Office of works at Taiverso Tuick*. 1939)

The only artefacts the excavators considered to relate to the Neolithic use of the ruinous chamber were two pieces of worked flint – an arrowhead and a “leaf-shaped” point – found on the floor.

A third possibility was a worked chert blade, lying on top of the remains of the eastern cell’s wall. [1]

Taversoe Flint Artefacts — A: Arrowhead. B: Chert ‘knife’. C: Leaf-shaped point.
(📷 Grant. *Excavations on behalf of HM Office of works at Taiverso Tuick*. 1939)

The denuded condition of the upper chamber suggests it had been, like some other Neolithic structures, partially dismantled after use. The question here, though, is when?

As we saw last time, the portion of the chamber exposed in 1898 contained three cists, within which were deposits of cremated bone.

In 2003, the surviving human remains from these cists were radiocarbon dated to 2130-1740BC [2], placing their insertion into the chamber firmly in the Bronze Age.

Clearly the chamber was still accessible, and rubble free, at that point and the 30cm of earth on the floor suggests it was not completely open to the elements – or if it was it hadn’t been for long.

The inner end of the upper entrance passage after the 1937 excavation. (📷 David Wilson/Orkney SMR)

The 1937 excavation also found that the inner end of the upper entrance passage had been blocked with masonry. Again, this is not uncommon in Neolithic chambered cairns (e.g., Midhowe) but at the Taversoe Tuick the evidence clearly pointed to the chamber being sealed in the Bronze Age.

Beneath the blocking material, but c30cm above the passage floor, were the remains of a necklace – 35 stone disc beads and a perforated pumice “pendant”. This was recognised as Bronze Age, prompting the Grant to propose that the necklace, and its deposition, was contemporary with the cists found by the Burroughs almost four decades before. [1]

The beads and pendant recovered from under the entrance passage blocking material.
(Grant. Excavations on behalf of HM Office of works at Taiverso Tuick. 1939) — The shale beads and pumice pendant recovered from under the entrance passage blocking material.
(📷 Grant. *Excavations on behalf of HM Office of works at Taiverso Tuick*. 1939)

The fact the necklace lay on top of material, but beneath the blocking, is proof the passage was sealed in the Bronze Age. This, and other recorded finds, strongly suggests the structure remained a focus long after the Neolithic and, it appears, was also extensively modified in the Bronze Age.

Also in the passage were two cattle shoulder-blades. It’s impossible to tell where from the excavation report, which did not record their stratigraphy, but it seems likely these were also deposited/left during the operation to seal the chamber.

In 1937, fragments from a steatite bowl were also found in a “dump of material [that had been] presumably removed by General Burroughs”. We know steatite, or soapstone, was imported into Orkney from the Early Bronze Age, the nearest source being Shetland. The same deposit contained two flint scrapers. [1]

A Bronze Age date was also proposed for pottery sherds found “outside the door of the upper chamber.” [1]

From the few words in the excavation report it is difficult to comment on this. While Grant was confident of a Bronze Age date, the sherds belonged to a coil-built, flat-bottomed vessel, which also nicely fits the description of Neolithic Grooved Ware.

He added that they were “not far removed from some of the thinner vessels from Rinyo.” [1]

The Rinyo settlement site was discovered mere months after the Taversoe Tuick excavation. While there is no doubt it was a Neolithic settlement, its excavation did produce Bronze Age pottery. But how it fitted into the life of the site remains unclear.

After excavation, the Taversoe Tuick was consolidated for public viewing and a concrete dome placed over the top of the remains.

The consolidated Taversoe Tuick c.1937 after the addition of the concrete dome. (📷 David Wilson/Orkney SMR) — The Taversoe Tuick, c.1937, after the addition of the concrete roofing dome. (📷 David Wilson/Orkney SMR)

Notes

[1] Grant, W. (1939) Excavations on behalf of HM Office of works at Taiverso Tuick, Trumland, Rousay. In Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Volume 73, 1938-39, pp. 155-166).
[2] Sheridan, A. (2003) The NMS Dating Cremated Bones Project. In Discovery and Excavation in Scotland, Volume Four.