Grain - Souterrain - Mainland, Orkney


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Grain (SM 90154), also known as Grainbank, is an earth house, or souterrain located in the Hatston Industrial Estate just over the bay from Kirkwall on mainland Orkney.

There are NO contemporary publications in academic journals describing the discovery, or excavation of Grain!

The souterrain was discovered in 1827 but it was not excavated until 1857, unfortunately it was dug by James Farrer. Farrer was the MP for Durham but he visited Orkney frequently, he was also a friend of the Earl of Zetland who owned large areas of the Orkney islands, so Farrer had no problem getting permission for his "digs". Even by the standards of the time, Farrer's excavations were notably crude and destructive, his primary interest was artefacts, and he lost interest if nothing was found, he was also notorious for not keeping records of his "digs". Luckily Farrer was accompanied on some of his investigations by George Petrie, a local Sheriff, Petrie made excellent notes and drawings and most of the salvageable information from Farrer's work comes from him.

The souterrain was reopened in 1901 by James W. Cursiter who reported his findings in the newspaper, The Scotsman (1). Cursiter was particularly impressed by the pillar supported roof of the chamber "The most remarkable feature of the chamber is the fact that the roofing is supported by four massive pillars, each pillar consisting of a single water-worn block of stone placed on end".

Grain is covered briefly in Macritchie's 1917 general work on "Earth Houses and Their Occupants" (2) which includes a rare early photograph.

The only recent paper we could find involving Grain was Haigh's (3) detailing the 1982 discovery of a second souterrain close by.

Grain is, of course, mentioned in a plethora of later general works and will certainly feature in any comprehensive guide to prehistoric Scotland or Orkney (4).

Grain is an entirely subterranean structure consisting of an entrance stairway, passage and chamber. Such structures are today referred to as souterrains, but they have been known by many other names over the years. "Weem" is a term we have seen used in publications of the 19th century, with "Earth House" also being used then and surviving to the present, older terms are "Eide House" and "Leabidh Fholaich" (hiding beds). "Pict's House" is somewhat equivocal as we have seen this term used to specifically describe chambered cairns and to distinguish them from souterrains which were named as "Weems".

Souterrains are found widely across the British Isles and we have visited quite a few. The usual form is a curved passage leading to a chamber, but there are many variations, some Cornish versions are simple passages only with no chamber, and Irish souterrains can be so complex and multi level that their plans resemble London Underground maps. The Orkney twist to the form seems to be chambers with pillar supported roofs.

Souterrains are seen as Iron Age structures and this has been confirmed many times by radiocarbon dating, but recently another four-pillared souterrain at Nessbreck Corrigall on Mainland Orkney has returned several radiocarbon dates in the 1900-1600calBC range, placing it firmly in the Bronze Age. There is no conclusive dating evidence available for Grain, radiocarbon or otherwise, the Iron Age dating for the structure is based on typological considerations only.

Many souterrains are found in close association with domestic dwellings, in some cases the souterrain entrances being incorporated into the dwelling's structure. In 1982 a second souterrain (3) was discovered only seven metres west of Grain along with the remains of several buildings which probably comprise a settlement that would have included the original Grain souterrain. Souterrains are thought to have been constructed using a "cut and cover" method, the space dug out, and in the case of Grain, rock-cut, the walling was then built and finally the roof was added. This would have to have been done before any domestic structures were built above, so souterrains must have been viewed as essential resources.

We have seen much speculation as to the original purpose for souterrains, refuges used during attacks, livestock pens, food stores and "ritual use" have all been suggested. Several souterrains we have seen have very narrow "creep-way" entrances obviously designed to limit size and speed of entry, which would fit with a refuge, but only some of the surviving examples have this feature. The narrow creep-way entrances would however, rule out easy livestock passage. As for food storage, the single word we would use to describe many of the souterrains we have visited is "WET". The floor of Grain was slick with water during our visit and the walls were wet with obvious signs of long term water flow. Several Cornish souterrains (fogous) had standing water and "tide marks" on the walls showing that water levels had reached up to half the height of the passages. We could not enter one Irish souterrain as it was completely flooded to roof height. Unless water tables across the British Isles were much lower when the souterrains were built, we cannot see them as being viable storage for perishables.

To sum up, there is no archaeological evidence to suggest an original function for souterrains and their structure does not suggest an evident purpose, so we currently just don't know what they were used for. Given the effort involved in construction and the wide distribution across the British Isles, whatever their original function was, it must have been of extreme importance to the builders.

The entrance to Grain is currently through a doorway in a mound, this all modern construction. The passage and chamber can be traced by the low mounding above them, this too is a modern addition. The first part of the original structure encountered is the lower section of the stairway used to access the souterrain, there are eight steps down from the door and the tread stones of all of them seem very unworn, so we suspect even the lower original steps have been restored.

At the bottom of the stairs is a kind of "lobby" this has its own roof structure which is distinct from that of the passage. In the south and east walls here are two "niches", the eastern one is simply a shallow recess between the passage walling and the pillar supporting the SE corner of the roofing. The southern niche is around 1m deep and more complex, the walling of the stairway is returned to the south and ends in three upright pillars, there is also a small section of walling past the SE support pillar and then niche is closed by neat dry walling at the south. The niche opening has two lintels and there is a considerable "window" between these and the roofing, the arrangement resembles a small "kiosk" with the lintels serving as the counter. It has been suggested that the southern niche was an alternative entranceway or perhaps a sealed passage to another chamber, whatever the original purpose, considerable effort was involved in its construction. The inclusion of niche areas is a feature seen most frequently in Orcadian souterrains, along with the use of freestanding support pillars.

The passage is about 5m long and was originally about 0.8m high throughout its length, in the 1901-8 preparations for public visits the floor of the passage was dug out to increase ease of access and the current height under the roof stones is now about 1.05m. The passage is roofed with rectangular section stones that are really more like beams than the slabs we are used to seeing used in this context. These "beams" are all well-rounded as though water-worn, indeed we noticed that all of the stones used to roof the chamber had a similar water-worn appearance, even three of the four support pillars were like this. In contrast, almost all of the walling elements are the usual sharp-edged slabs, we noticed that this sharp division of texture was seen throughout the entire structure of the souterrain.

Note the contrast between the rounded stones used for roofing compared to the sharp-edged walling stones.

As the passage runs north towards the chamber it curves continuously to the east, the curve of the passage blocks direct view of the chamber from the "lobby" area. The section of the passage is rectangular, there is no corbelling or over sailing to reduce the roof span. The walls are dry stone walling but there are quite few massive stones incorporated, especially in the lowest course.

The passage enters the chamber in the SW corner, the west wall returns to form a sharp corner and the east wall continues to become the chamber walling.

The chamber is rounded rectangle about 3.60m long and 1.93m wide with a maximum height of about 1.68m. The floor is rock-cut and level with the dug out passage, indicating that there would originally have been a step down at the entrance. The walling is vertical, any over-sailing being limited to, perhaps, a few courses below the roofing, the sharp walling/ smooth roofing stone dichotomy seen in the passage is repeated here.

The most spectacular feature of the chamber is of course the four freestanding roof support pillars. The stones are arranged in a rectangle and seem to bear directly onto the rock floor, they are around 1.2m tall, although two of them have eke stones inserted at their tops. This pillar support feature is a trait seen uniquely in Orcadian souterrains, but the number of pillars, and their arrangement, can vary from the "four square" layout seen at Grain.

Each pillar supports a side beam that is embedded in the walling and these in turn, support two large lintel stones which support the entire chamber roof. It is a fantastic piece of architecture to witness, although it does seem as though it would be unstable, particularly as one of the eke stones is quite small, but the chamber is still standing after nearly two millennia, a testament to the skill of the builders.

The entire length of the souterrain slopes down to the north and this is true for the chamber too, so the lowest point is against the northern end wall. The floor area here was very wet when we visited, the support pillars and eastern walling had black tide-mark stains up to about 15cm,showing just how wet the interior can get. We noticed that many of the roof stones were covered in sheen of water and there were many water-run marks on the walling stones, this is not a dry place!

NOTE: All of our photos and panoramas were taken using ultra-wide lenses, consequently the internal space appears much larger than it really is. If you are over 5ft 6in (166cm) you will not be able to stand upright in the chamber.

When we visited in 2008 Grain was open for visiting all year round and entrance was free. There is easy parking close to the site which is surrounded by metal railings. The steps down into Grain have quite high risers and there is no handrail, so be careful! When we visited in June the interior was very wet and the passage bottom is exposed earth and rock, with only 1metre height you will be crawling on hands and knees so be prepared to get dirty. The steep stairway and small passage dimensions will make this a very difficult access for bods with even mild mobility problems. There is no skylight or artificial lighting inside Grain and there is no torch provided, so remember to bring your own illumination. Oh, and be prepared to bump your head............. a lot.

1. Cursiter, J.W., The Scotsman, 19:10:1901.
2. Macritchie, D., Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 51, p.188-9,1917.
3. Haigh, D., Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 113, p.367-90,1983.
4. Childe, V.G. and Simpson, W.D., Illustrated Guide to Ancient Monuments in the Ownership or Guardianship of The Ministry of Works, 5th ed, vi, p.54 & 111, Edinburgh 1967.

HY 44121 11605 (GPS 5min top of door)	Overall length 10.5m (plan).
Visited June 2008

Grain Earth House

Souterrain - Mainland, Orkney