Today was another trip through history. We started at the Rennibister Earth House. This was an underground home that we accessed by climbing down a ladder into a small chamber. it is similar to the souterrains that we visited earlier. We followed this by a visit to Cuween Hill Cairn. We entered this by crawling along a low narrow passageway into the centre of the cairn where it opened up into a high domed chamber. Unfortunately the torch that was left at the gate had a flat battery and we had not taken ours. When this was discovered, there were dog skulls as well as human remains. They think the dog must have been the tribal totem.
Next visit was Broch of Gurness, a Pictish village that was most impressive with a stone tower in the middle. We were able to walk around and see the stone furniture, the stone beds, the cooking areas. It was amazing. We then went on to the Brough of Birsay where we saw the puffins and also an old Viking settlement that had been built over the Pictish settlement.
We had lunch sitting on the wall of the brew house in Earl Robert's Palace. Earl Robert was a nasty type and made life difficult for the local Orcadians. The current Robert is much better.
We also stopped off at several old churches, the Earl's Bu (drinking hall), the Orkneyinga Saga Centre where the main saga was the video did not work and lots of other scenic spots.
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2 comments:
I just had a look at the Rennibister Earth House on the 'net. I think I would have developed claustrophobia if I'd had to use the original entrance. Obviously the original inhabitants were not very big!
And you're right, the original Earl Robert doesn't seem to have been a very nice chap at all. A bit like an olden days Frank Sartor perhaps?
Sounds like a building you might see in Coober Pedy.
Glad to hear Dad is behaving ;)
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