Archaeologists dug under the farm and found a smiling vintage face

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That’s what you will find out after reading this story:

  • Archaeological excavations in the Orkney Island revealed the Viking era find.

  • The carved red sandstone head has sophisticated details throughout the face.

  • This discovery may have a connection with St. Magnus Cathedral, the Northern Cathedral of Britain.


After the 18th century number on the farm, the Scotland Organ Archipelago is a medieval Viking-era settlement. This settlement just revealed the face from the past.

During the excavation of the Orkeny Rousay Island, the graduate of the Institute of Archeology at the University of Highlands and Islands removed the ancient construction department to reveal a piece of sandstone. The stone stared straight back, uncovering the finely carved red sandstone head with yellow inserts, probably excavated from Eday Island.

“This is such an exciting find,” says Sarah Jane Gibbon, Director of Archaeological excavation at Skall Archaeological Archaeological Research Center, the report said. “Over the years, we found some interesting pieces of red sandstone in the nearby hall tower as the next year’s excavation in the nearby hall tower, but nothing like it.”

This piece can be more than 900 years old, associated with the Scandinavian settlement below the 18th century farm. This site, once owned by Sigurd of Westness, the famous Viking commander of the 12th century, has medieval buildings on the site. For example, 2019 The research center discovered the Norwegian drinking hall (the name of the number comes from the old Norwegian word meaning “hall”).

During the recent excavation, crews dug a two -storey rectangular building with three -foot -wide walls built in a similar style as the square building on the living room, which, the team that thinks, was a modern late medieval economy. The newly discovered building may have been a large warehouse of ancient farm.

When the excavation removed the inner floor, the student Katie Joss found a sandstone face. “We removed the plate when the head came to us and, turned around, we saw a face looking at us,” Jose said, “Jose Joss said BBC; “It was really interesting.”

Gibbon said carving appeared to be meant to see from the front, a little angle to show the front of the top of the head, which “with a beautifully carved hair locks.” The eyes look closed and the face has a small smile on asymmetrical eyebrows to “express the true character”.

The only face damage is a broken nose, and Gibbon wondered if it was thought out or accidental.

Sandstone competitions formed fragments from the nearby St. Mary’s Old Parish Church, but the team tried to find any similarities with the design. The only part and form found in the size and form was from the nearby Kirkwall St. Magnus Cathedral, the northernmost Cathedral in Great Britain, was built by Rognwald Earl, a friend of Sigurd of Westness.

At the Kirkwall Cathedral, the team built a window frame on the southern side, which has a carved face with a hair curl, as did the number found. Cathedral curls are on the left side of the face, and the Curls of the Skail face are on the right, almost as if you did as mirror images.

“We think we are standing on the hall that Sigurd built and lived, which later became a late medieval homestead,” said Dan Lee, the excavation director and the institute archaeologist. BBC; “We think it was a real habitat of power during that period.”

The team plans to further explore carving to compare it to St. The Magnus Cathedral hopes to come up with new interpretations of its origin history.

“For the time being, the head of the Dajil must remain a charming riddle on the date, origin and use,” said Gibbon, “but its discovery with many other great pieces of carved red sandstone, as well as those built in the nearby old parish church in St. Mary.

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