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Wasbister is an earthwork that marks the parish boundary between Stenness and Sandwick in Orkney, Scotland. The monument survives as an upstanding linear feature cut into the landscape, reflecting the practical needs of medieval and post-medieval communities to define territorial divisions. Such boundary earthworks are common across Britain, typically constructed through a combination of digging and heaping soil to create a visible, defensible line between adjacent parishes or estates.
The earthwork sits upon Middle Old Red Sandstone bedrock of Devonian age, which comprises layers of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. This geological foundation would have presented both opportunities and challenges to those constructing the boundary; the relatively softer materials could be dug to form a ditch, whilst harder sandstone bands would have required more effort to work.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the reference SM7855. The Stenness-Sandwick boundary earthwork remains an important record of Orkney's medieval administrative geography and the labour invested in establishing and maintaining territorial boundaries in this northern island landscape.
Wasbister, Stenness - Sandwick parish boundary, earthwork is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM7855. View the official record →
Wasbister is an earthwork that marks the parish boundary between Stenness and Sandwick in Orkney, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM7855.
Wasbister, Stenness - Sandwick parish boundary, earthwork 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 SM7855.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Diamond Cottage,defended promontory N of (2.1 km), Knowe of Onston,or Unstan,chambered cairn (2.2 km), Little Barnhouse, mound, 160m NE of (2.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Wasbister, Stenness - Sandwick parish boundary, earthwork'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, Stenness - Sandwick parish boundary, earthwork stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.