Knowes of Trotty
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The Knowes of Trotty is a Bronze Age cemetery located in Mainland, Orkney in Scotland. The ancient site consists of a group of twelve surviving burial mounds (or barrows), dating to 2030–1770 BC. Along with cremated human remains, four gold discs and a number of amber beads and pendants were discovered in the largest mound in 1858. Knowes of Trotty is one of the earliest group of burial mounds in Orkney and one of the largest Bronze Age cemeteries in the United Kingdom.
The site
The Knowes of Trotty Bronze Age burial site is located east of the Loch of Harray, in Mainland, Orkney. Twelve burial mounds are situated at the bottom of the western slopes of the Ward of Redland. The mounds are laid out in two rows, and range in diameter from 9 to 18 m (30 to 59 ft), and in height from 0.6 to 3 m (2.0 to 9.8 ft) in height.[1] The largest mound, is at the north end of the group and is 18 m (59 ft) in diameter, 3 m (9.8 ft) in height, and sits on an elevated platform. The barrows were originally surrounded by a stone cairn which was then covered in earth.[2]
Knowes of Trotty is one of the earliest group of burial mounds in Orkney and is considered to be one of the largest of the Bronze Age cemeteries between Orkney and southern England. Due to passage of time and soil erosion, the mounds are visible today only as slight bumps in a large field. There is evidence that the other burial mounds have been explored previously, but no other human remains or burial artefacts have been recorded. In the Bronze Age, the barrows would have much higher and viewed easily from far away.[3][4]
Burial contents
The largest mound, when excavated in 1858, was found to contain a stone burial cist flanked by tall standing stones. The cist contained cremated human bones, four gold discs, and amber beads and pendants. The discs were made from paper-thin gold foil and were decorated with concentric circles of zig-zags and lines. The amber pieces consisted of two round beads, two hooked-shaped pendants and seventeen broken amber plates. The rectangular plates were pierced with holes and were originally included in a spacer-plate necklace.[3][5]