From Quoyness, Sanday, Orkney
Add to albumThese two carefully shaped stones of unknown function and the bone pin were placed as grave goods in a communal monumental tomb at Quoyness on Sanday in Orkney. They date from between 3100 and 2500 BC.
The bone pin is highly polished and has a knob on one side, probably to secure clothing. The stone objects are of slate, ground into distinctive shapes. They are similar to examples found at the contemporary settlement at Skara Brae.
Many early farming communities commemorated the ancestors by building monumental communal burial sites, where the bones of the recently dead were mingled with those of the long-dead. Many were built to resemble the houses of the living.
Record details
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- Online ID: 000-100-035-177-C
- Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
- Project:
National Museums Scotland
Project description View all records in project
- Ref: National Museums Scotland X.EO 135
- Date: Between 3100 and 2500 BC
- Material: Bone; round and tapering; polished surface and small projecting knob on one side
Dark bituminous schist; with longitudinal groove and double pointed ends
Schist, dark; three pointed; two grooves round central ridge opposite the longest of its three projections
Pin
Stone
Stone
- Dimensions: 4.75" x 2.50"
7.00" L
- What: Pin
Stone
Stone
- Subject:
- Who:
- Where: Scotland, Orkney, Sanday, Els Ness, Quoyness
Scotland, Orkney, Sanday, Els Ness, Quoyness
Scotland, Orkney, Sanday, Els Ness, Quoyness
- Event:
- Description: Carefully shaped stone with no obvious function, from Quoyness, Sanday, Orkney
Carefully shaped stone with no obvious function, from Quoyness, Sanday, Orkney
Bulbed unperforated bone pin of large size, from Quoyness, Sanday, Orkney
- References:
- Davidson, J.L. and Henshall, A.S. The Chambered Cairns of Orkney. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1989.
- Translations:
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