Scar boat burial

In 1985 a Sanday farmer noticed bones and a small lead object eroding from a low bank at the Crook, on the island's exposed northern shore. Only in 1991, prompted by the archaeologist Julie Gibson and the threat of coastal storms, was the site properly investigated and then rescue-excavated that winter by a team under Magnar Dalland. What emerged was a boat burial of a kind seldom found in the British Isles. The vessel, roughly 6.5 metres long, had long since rotted away, but more than 300 iron rivets preserved its outline within a stone-lined setting. Three people had been laid inside: a man of about thirty, a child of around ten, and an elderly woman near seventy. The grave goods were exceptional. With the man were a sword, a quiver of arrows, a bone comb and a set of gaming pieces. The woman was accompanied by a gilded brooch, shears, a sickle, spindle whorls and, most striking of all, a beautifully carved whalebone plaque with a pair of confronted animal heads, a masterpiece of early Viking art. Radiocarbon dating and the artefacts place the burial between about 875 and 950 CE. The find illuminates the wealth, seafaring culture and Scandinavian ties of Orkney's Norse settlers, and remains one of the most important Viking discoveries in Scotland. Part of the site had already been lost to the sea before excavation, and the remainder has since eroded.

Little survives at the burial site itself. The bank at the Crook, on the north coast of Sanday about a kilometre from the settlement of Scar, has continued to erode, and the excavated grave was recorded and removed rather than preserved in place. Visitors to the shore today see a wide, wind-scoured beach and low eroding banks rather than any visible monument or marker. The real experience is at the Orkney Museum in Kirkwall, where the finds are displayed in the Viking gallery. Highlights include the humble lead weight that first betrayed the grave, the gilded equal-armed brooch, the iron sword, bone gaming pieces, combs, shears and spindle whorls. The celebrated carved whalebone plaque is the centrepiece, though it has at times been loaned to other institutions, so it is worth checking before a special visit.

The find site lies on Sanday, one of Orkney's northern isles, reached by Orkney Ferries or Loganair flights from the Orkney Mainland; Kirkwall is the main gateway town. The beach near Scar can be visited freely, but there is no signage, visitor centre or facilities, and nothing of the grave remains to see. Most visitors instead head for the Orkney Museum in Kirkwall (Tankerness House), which holds and displays the Scar finds. Admission and opening arrangements can change, so confirm current hours, any charges and whether the whalebone plaque is on display via the museum's official pages before travelling. Sanday also has other Norse and prehistoric sites worth combining into a trip.