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Post by georgeg on Feb 16, 2008 18:25:03 GMT 1
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Post by maree on Feb 16, 2008 20:09:37 GMT 1
I think these pictures really highlight the skill of our ancestors George and how they managed to build these splendid peerie houses out of such unsuitably shaped stone for building.
Those lucky Orcadians had large flat pieces of sandstone to build with which must have made a task a little easier.
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Post by benjiesmum on Feb 16, 2008 20:25:21 GMT 1
Is that limestone they have used george? It looks very similar to some of the stone used round here??
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Post by georgeg on Feb 16, 2008 20:57:46 GMT 1
Aye maree, god knows how they managed it.. I was really curious about the standing stone in pic.7, i wonder if its to mark a grave, as i dont think there is a cemetry anywhere near gunnister,, our allan [my son] seems to think that in these times people buried their dead on their property.. but i'm not to sure.. also across the voe at setter croft you'll notice that some of the building stones are red granite [ pic. 1 ] I spoke to a local man about a week ago [the one who told me the story of how they got their peat] he told me a local name for the red granite, but i can't remember it now.. maree. I deleted the post in the otter thread as requested. i'll try to put them back on tomorrow in the photography thread, as i dont thing anything is going to be done to tidy it up.. and also the video i made of gunnister voe, i dont think that we have a thread for local video's..?? Benji. I really don't know if its limestone or not, probably if Allan reads this post he would be the right person to ask. i do find these old houses of great interest, it would be real good if anyone could tell us all the history of them, and how old they were..
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Post by malcolm on Feb 16, 2008 21:26:38 GMT 1
Re " maree. I deleted the post in the otter thread as requested. i'll try to put them back on tomorrow in the photography thread, as i dont thing anything is going to be done to tidy it up.. and also the video i made of gunnister voe, i dont think that we have a thread for local video's..??"
We are still talking about how and if the photography threads can be made better and easier to use. I have had a buy couple of weeks so have not been able to deal with it immediately, However Myself, Maree and the Moderators are looking into the matter and hope to deal with it soon.
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Post by maree on Feb 17, 2008 0:02:15 GMT 1
I was really curious about the standing stone in pic.7, i wonder if its to mark a grave, as i dont think there is a cemetry anywhere near gunnister,, our allan [my son] seems to think that in these times people buried their dead on their property.. Perhaps it does mark a grave George, or maybe it was the entrance to some sort of building? George's Quote maree. I deleted the post in the otter thread as requested. i'll try to put them back on tomorrow in the photography thread, as i dont thing anything is going to be done to tidy it up.. and also the video i made of gunnister voe, i dont think that we have a thread for local video's..?? (I'm not sure how to quote different parts of one message, so I've had to do it like this George!! With the large variety of threads on each board now, there's a large choice of compatable categories to post photos on I think. Videos such as the beautifu Gunnister Voe might fit best onto the Local Stuff - Northmavine board? Today, I wanted to post a you tube video of someone carrying out a solar panel workshop so I made a new thread in the Green Room board. I know what you mean george about missing posts because of the volume of things, but I really like the feeling of coming across a peerie gem that I missed at the time of posting......such as bm's quilt picture With regard to the stone used in the gunnister hooses......in addition to the red granite dotted through the buildings......I'm no expert and it's difficult to tell the actual colour due to weathering but I remember Allen Fraser telling me about Gabbro - which is a grey/dark intrusive igneous rock. The extrusive (volcanic) version of this rock is the lovely basalt found in explosive Eshaness. Bonna would also know exactly what type of stone it is and where it was sourced originally. There ends my somewhat ropey geology lesson for today.........I'm really interested in the geology, but I can never retain half of the info that Allen has told me over the years! On the subject of limestone bm.........It can be found in Ollaberry here in Northmavine, this is why there's lovely green grass in parts of Ollaberry. I'd be interested to know the name for the red granite if it comes back to you George.
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Post by georgeg on Feb 17, 2008 6:29:59 GMT 1
Thanks mal for thinking about it.. its just that there are 20 threads in that section, 5 of them with advise, 15 active and 2 moved to where they should be, I can live with it. but i think some other people might get confused with so many. i know i'm a pain in the **** but i mean well......
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Post by benjiesmum on Feb 17, 2008 7:09:26 GMT 1
i know i'm a pain in the **** but i mean well...... Never!!! It's got us all thinking and you were right to bring it up. Pain? Never!!! ;D ;D ;D
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Post by allen on Feb 17, 2008 9:06:27 GMT 1
Spot on Maree - The grey rocks around Gunnister are Gabbro. The red granite contains a lot of red potassium feldspar and is classed as a Granophyre. There is a new (March 2006) geological map of Northmaven out -it is called Scotland Sheet 129 Northmaven - (note the spelling). You can order it online from the BGS shop shop.bgs.ac.uk/Bookshop/The standing stone looks to be just that - there could be others aligned to it - or it could be an orthostat from a robbed out Neolithic (or later) house
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Post by Fifi on Feb 17, 2008 13:21:41 GMT 1
It's amazing how these old crofthouses look as though they're almost part of the land.. <which they were!> I used to board with a lovely lady in a crofthouse when I first came to Shetland, the local name of which was 'Clettan Roo' <sp?> and I thought that meant something like 'red rock'?
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Post by hampdenquilts on Feb 17, 2008 20:47:01 GMT 1
Fiona - How did you happen to move to Shetland? Somehow I thought you grew up there. I know I may be being too curious, but I am always fascinated by other's stories.
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Post by georgeg on Feb 17, 2008 21:24:11 GMT 1
One picture that slipped my mind.. gunnister..
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Post by georgeg on Feb 18, 2008 7:56:59 GMT 1
I have checked my map, and found a chambered cairn just n.north west of mangaster, then to the left of it is a homestead beside punds water in fellsa moor.. but I would think, considering the terrain, it would have been very difficult for them to transport their dead, even if they used their boat's, they would find it very difficult to get to it.. probably the chambered cairn served the resident's of mangaster.. chambered cairn's can date from neolithic time's...
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Post by georgeg on Feb 18, 2008 9:23:24 GMT 1
After doing a wee bit googling, I found this ,some of you might find it interesting,,
Beorgs of Uyea, North Roe, axe quarry HU327900 A large outcrop of felsite has been quarried to produce a hollow, which has been roofed. The felsite was used for the production of polished stone knives and axes, and the litter from the roughing-out of these tools lies all around the quarry pit. It includes semi-finished rough-outs, abandoned before final polishing began. This is the most easily found of a number of working floors spread across the nearby slopes, where this favoured rock-type outcrops in many places. (A track runs W from North Roe School for 3km, until it swings NE. The route to the site is along S shore of the Mill Loch beyond this change in direction. A tall, modern, cairn lies on the skyline, and the site is reached just before this. A rough walk, across unfrequented moorland.)
Punds Water, Mangaster, house and walls HU323714 A massively built house, with an associated field system apparently bounded by a stout wall which closes the neck of a promontory just beyond the house.
Bays Water, Mavis Grind, houses & fields HU335675 A well-preserved field system, incorporating four houses, one of which, an oval 11m by 9, is apparently of a similar plan to the main house at Gruting School (19). There are many clearance cairns, and a number of "rude stone implements", mainly stone plough tips, have been found in this area.
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Post by allen on Feb 18, 2008 10:18:45 GMT 1
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