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Wasbister is a burial mounds and settlement located 650 metres south-east of Buckan Cottage in Orkney, Scotland. The site sits upon bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone, formed during the Middle Devonian period, comprising conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. This geology has shaped the landscape and the construction materials available to successive communities who occupied this location.
The monument comprises both funerary and domestic elements, indicating prolonged use of the site across different periods. The combination of burial mounds and settlement features suggests this was a focal point for a community, serving functions both ceremonial and residential. The exposed sandstone bedrock would have provided durable stone for building and for constructing cairns and monuments to the dead.
Wasbister is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM7700, recognising its significance to understanding settlement patterns and burial practices in Orkney. The site's preservation allows future investigation of how Orcadian communities organised their lives around burial grounds and domestic spaces, and how they adapted to the local geology in constructing their monuments and structures.
Wasbister, burial mounds and settlement 650m SE of Buckan Cottage is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM7700. View the official record →
Wasbister is a burial mounds and settlement located 650 metres south-east of Buckan Cottage in Orkney, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM7700.
Wasbister, burial mounds and settlement 650m SE of Buckan Cottage 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 SM7700.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Knowe of Onston,or Unstan,chambered cairn (2.2 km), Little Barnhouse, mound, 160m NE of (2.6 km), Cummi Howe, broch (3.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Wasbister, burial mounds and settlement 650m SE of Buckan Cottage'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.
Wasbister, burial mounds and settlement 650m SE of Buckan Cottage stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.