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Slack is a square barrow cemetery situated on the Orkney island of Hoy, approximately 360 metres south and 550 metres south-east of Braebuster. The monument comprises multiple Bronze Age burial structures, each constructed as a square or rectangular earthwork. Such cemeteries are characteristic of the Bronze Age in northern Britain, typically containing cremations and grave goods reflecting the burial practices of the period. The site occupies terrain underlain by Middle Old Red Sandstone of Devonian age, composed of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone, which would have provided accessible stone for construction and boundary definition.
The square barrow form represents a distinctive mortuary tradition of the second millennium BC across Scotland and beyond. At Slack, the barrows would have been individually sited to create a formal cemetery landscape, suggesting repeated use of the location across generations and reflecting considerable social investment in commemoration of the dead.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under scheduled monument entry SM13530, recognising its archaeological and heritage significance as evidence of Bronze Age settlement patterns and ritual practices in the Orkney Islands.
Slack, square barrow cemetery 360m S and 550m SE of, Braebuster, Hoy is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13530. View the official record →
Slack is a square barrow cemetery situated on the Orkney island of Hoy, approximately 360 metres south and 550 metres south-east of Braebuster. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13530.
Slack, square barrow cemetery 360m S and 550m SE of, Braebuster, Hoy is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM13530.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Upper Cairn,souterrain,Braebuster (1.2 km), Skerry Battery, coast battery (WW2) 460m NNE of Bu (1.9 km), Whaness Burn, enclosure 1680m NNE of Dwarfie Stane, Hoy (3.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Slack, square barrow cemetery 360m S and 550m SE of, Braebuster, Hoy's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Slack, square barrow cemetery 360m S and 550m SE of, Braebuster, Hoy stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.