Knowe of Swandro

Structure 1 is likely the remains of a large roundhouse. It is the earliest of the Iron Age buildings yet to be identified in the Knowe of Swandro Site. Very little remains of Structure 1, as is located on the beach and has been severely eroded by the ocean. The outer walls of Structure 1 are made of stone uprights and the floor is made of a single massive flagstone measuring about three meters in length. A mezzanine floor may have run around the perimeter of the inside of the building. There are slots carved into the flagstone that may have been the postholes for the uprights that may have supported this floor. Evidence of similar mezzanine floors dating to the Middle Iron Age was found at…

It is likely that the site at the Knowe of Swandro is what remains of a larger, high status settlement. There is extensive evidence of complex and high-quality metalworking and an abundance of copper, lead, and iron in the area. Ready access to materials and technology necessary for high quality metalworking was likely a major source of power for sites like the Knowe of Swandro, as well as other sites in Orkney and Shetland. Animal bones with evidence of butchering may be an indicator that feasting and similar high-status activities occurred in the settlement. Several pieces of Roman glass dating to the first century CE and Roman coins dating to the fourth century CE have been found at the…