Besidee the OcOcean:n: CoastCoastall LLandscapes at the BBay of Skaill, Marw Marwick, & Birsay Bay, OOrkney

by byDavi David Griffiths, Jane JaneHa Harrison & Michael MichaelA Athanson Oxbow OxbowB Books Mar 2019 £45 pp374 hb isbn 9781789250961 97817

This thoughtfully constructed and wellillustrated monograph reports on research into Viking and Late Norse settlement at three Atlantic-facing bays on the Mainland, Orkney, between 2003 and 2018. By 2000, writes Griffiths, who had first worked in the islands as a student, geophysical and topographical survey had advanced to the point that they offered a fruitful alternative to traditional sources of archaeological discovery, as most famously at the Neolithic village of Skara Brae

– coastal erosion and shifting sands. Large areas inland of the bays were surveyed, and features of interest further explored with excavation, especially at a cluster of mounds in the Bay of Skaill and a well-preserved longhouse (see News Nov/Dec 2008/103). Vikings/Norse seem to come and go without immediate predecessors or successors. The skills of 28 specialists from 14 institutions are well used, and careful planning has allowed this landmark Orcadian project to be concluded. MP