Rennibister Earth House
Encyclopedia
Rennibister Earth House is located on the main island in the Orkney islands
. It is located by the south eastern shore of the Bay o' Firth, in a farm yard and is accessed by a hatch in the roof of the earth house and by a ladder. Its location is more picturesque than that of its counterpart, Grain Earth House.
The souterrain
was discovered when a threshing machine
caused the roof to collapse on 12 November 1926 and seems to date from c. 1000 BC. Access was originally by a passage that was low, with a small drop into the chamber. The chamber itself has 4 pillars supporting the roof, and 5 alcoves in the walls. Unusually, the chamber had the remains of 6 adults and 12 children.
The Site is currently in the care of Historic Scotland
.
Orkney Islands
Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
. It is located by the south eastern shore of the Bay o' Firth, in a farm yard and is accessed by a hatch in the roof of the earth house and by a ladder. Its location is more picturesque than that of its counterpart, Grain Earth House.
The souterrain
Souterrain
Souterrain is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the Atlantic Iron Age. These structures appear to have been brought northwards from Gaul during the late Iron Age. Regional names include earth houses, fogous and Pictish houses...
was discovered when a threshing machine
Threshing machine
The thrashing machine, or, in modern spelling, threshing machine , was a machine first invented by Scottish mechanical engineer Andrew Meikle for use in agriculture. It was invented for the separation of grain from stalks and husks. For thousands of years, grain was separated by hand with flails,...
caused the roof to collapse on 12 November 1926 and seems to date from c. 1000 BC. Access was originally by a passage that was low, with a small drop into the chamber. The chamber itself has 4 pillars supporting the roof, and 5 alcoves in the walls. Unusually, the chamber had the remains of 6 adults and 12 children.
The Site is currently in the care of Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...
.