Quoygrew

Dr James Barrett

The abandoned settlement site now known as Quoygrew is located on the north side of Rackwick, a large north-west-facing bay in a township of the same name in Westray, Orkney. It was first recorded as an archaeological site (under the name of the nearest modern settlement, Biggings Farm) in 1977 and in 1978 Sarah Colley dug a test pit in middens (mostly composed of fish bone) that were exposed in the wave-cut bank. The current programme of work began with an assessment in 1997, which was then followed by six short seasons of excavation.

The site was called Nether Trenabie in 19th century sources. This name incorporates the bœr element, traditionally associated with early and high status Norse estates. The modern farm of Trenabie sits on a hill overlooking Quoygrew, but field survey has failed to locate any evidence of medieval occupation around it. Quoygrew may thus represent the original settlement focus of the estate, which moved to the new hilltop location by the early 18th century. In any case, post-medieval Quoygrew (Nether Trenabie) existed only as a small satellite community - a factor which has done much to preserve its underlying Viking Age and medieval archaeology.

Today, the visible remains include the ruins of a croft (comprising a dwelling, outbuildings, a yard and an enclosed garden) which was abandoned in the 1930s and has since been heavily robbed for building stone. These relatively recent structures overlie an irregular farm mound composed of kitchen midden c.2m in elevation and c.50m in diameter. They also overlook a second low mound of 'fish midden' on the shore which has a maximum dimension of c.40m and has been sectioned by coastal erosion. In the gently sloping area between the two mounds geophysical survey and excavation have revealed a sequence of late Viking Age, medieval and post-medieval buildings. Auger survey and soil test pits have also identified an artificially thickened 'plaggen' topsoil, interpreted as an infield associated with the settlement. Radiocarbon and artefact evidence indicates that the excavated deposits range in date from the 9th or 10th to the 17th century AD.

Parts of the site are presently being consolidated for public display in cooperation with the Westray Development Trust, the Orkney Archaeological Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund. The finds from the excavation are in the process of being studied, and the results will soon be published as a monograph.