Archaelogy

Swona contains a varied archaeological landscape, with evidence of human activity extending from thousands of years ago into the 20th century. Recorded remains include prehistoric cairns and possible settlement sites, medieval ecclesiastical remains, later croft buildings, field systems, fishing structures, quarries, piers, dykes and maritime infrastructure.

Archaeological interest in the island long predates the recent Gordonstoun work. Earlier records include St Peter’s Kirk or Chapel, shown on historic maps and subsequently included in national archaeological records, together with prehistoric sites such as Stan Stanes, the collapsed chambered cairn at the south-west end of the island.

Professional archaeological recording was also carried out before 2010, including visits by the Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division during the 1970s and 1980s. These surveys documented visible remains across the island, including cairns, chapel sites, settlement features and other earthworks. Many additional sites and structures are recorded through Canmore, Scotland’s national record of the historic environment.

Swona’s archaeological importance is not limited to prehistoric or religious remains. The later working landscape is equally significant. Abandoned croft houses, kiln-barns, dykes, rig-and-furrow cultivation, sheep and cattle enclosures, skyos used for drying fish, boat-related structures, quarries and lighthouse remains all provide evidence of how generations of islanders lived and worked.

The site known locally as Twinly Kirk forms one part of this wider landscape and will be covered in more detail separately. The archaeological value of Swona lies in the island as a whole: its buildings, boundaries, burial and chapel sites, landing places, cultivation remains, working structures, place-names and family oral history, all preserved within a small and exposed island in the Pentland Firth.