DRY STONE ‘VIKING?’ WALLS
By Paul Collins

During a visit to St Kilda in 2002, I found an unusual and distinctive type of dry stone wall construction (see link http://www.kilda.org.uk/frame14.htm ).

Figure 1. St Kilda, Scotland - vertical outer wall face approximately 5 ft high.


Figure 2. St Kilda, Scotland - battered inner wall face. Note the absence of conventional coping stones but flat, inward sloping top stones instead.

I later recognized the same wall structure in the Yorkshire Dales.

The combination of upright standing stones (known as orthostats) on one side together with smaller stones are not typical of modern dry stone walling styles.

Although the type of wall I am describing is best expressed on St Kilda (Figs 1 & 2), another example exists high above the small village of Gunnerside, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England (Figs 3, 4 & 5).

Figure 3. Gunnerside, North Yorkshire, England - outer wall face with upright orthostats forming a stock proof fence.


Figure 4. Gunnerside, North Yorkshire, England - battered inner wall face separating the infield from the outfield.


Figure 5. View of the Gunnerside wall at a place known locally as the Winterings.

An identical but less complete example of this wall type also survives at Gauber pasture in Ribblesdale (Figs 6 & 7). The smaller stones from the inner face of the Ribblesdale wall have been robbed but the large upright outer row of orthostats are very similar to the wall structure at Gunnerside. The Gauber pasture wall is situated very close to the excavated and well documented Norse farmstead at the head of Ribblesdale.

Excavated in the 1970’s, coins date the Ribblehead site to around 870 AD and the buildings appear to have been built in the Viking longhouse tradition (see link http://www.outofoblivion.org.uk/record.asp?id=417 ).

Figure 6. Ribblesdale, North Yorkshire, England - outer wall face - identical to the wall at Gunnerside.

Figure 7. Ribblesdale, North Yorkshire, England – upright slabs support horizontal masonry. Note that the smaller stones to the inner face are missing.

All of these walls are sited in locations that have strong historical associations with the Viking Norse. A pair of 9th century Viking brooches was uncovered on St Kilda in the township of Hirta. Place names throughout Northern England and Scotland are Norse in origin indicating a strong Scandinavian presence in the British Isles (Gunnerside is old Norse = Gunnarr - seatr = summer pasture of Gunnarr). The Viking hog-back tomb stone at Burnsall, North Yorkshire has ring chain ornamentation in the Borre style of decoration which flourished between 840 - 980 AD, named after a rich find of boat grave goods discovered in southern Norway.

The Norse farmers operated an infield and outfield system of agriculture which could perhaps explain why these walls were constructed with smaller stones within the fenced enclosure and large upright orthostats facing outwards. The fenced enclosure surrounding the farmstead walls formed the ring-garth (Fig 8), also known as the head dyke. These walls separate the land set aside for cereal cultivation and rough pasture.

Figure 8. View of An Lag, St Kilda above the township of Hirta.

The smaller rocks on the battered inside face of the wall comprised of stones cleared from the land in preparation for sowing barley and oats. This view is supported by Else-Johansen Kleppe in his book ‘Ullandhaug, an early Iron Age Farm’. He writes “The stone fences [dividing the infield from the outfield] have served practical functions, keeping livestock within designated areas, and most importantly, away from the cultivated fields”.

The walls at Ullandhaug Farm, Rogaland in the South West of Norway are Iron Age circa 500 AD and are in a ruinous condition. Excavations at Ullandhaug Farm revealed what remains of stone foundation walls and are described as “constructed with one outer row of large stones and one inner row of smaller stones. From the quantity of stones found in the house-sites the height of the walls is estimated to have been approximately 1.5 meters”. (see link http://www.jernaldergarden.no/Engelsk/eng_index.htm ).
An identical example of the walls at Ullandhaug Farm survives at the Jaermuseet, Rogaland, Norway (Figs 9 & 10). Although the walls have collapsed, the combination of small stones together with large boulders are consistent with the wall types in both the Yorkshire Dales and St Kilda (see link http://www.jaermuseet.no/jaermuseet/english/vitengarden/hanabergmarka ).

Figure 9. Jaermuseet, Rogaland, Norway - head dyke consisting of small stones and large boulders.


Figure 10. Jaermuseet, Rogaland, Norway – Iron Age longhouse.

It is unlikely that 1000 year old standing walls survive from the Viking Age but perhaps the this particular style of wall building tradition continued much later in isolated areas just as the long house design is reflected in the vernacular architecture of Jaeren and the Yorkshire Dales. Is there a connection or is it pure coincidence that this wall type is repeated in locations colonised by the Norse settlers?

GLOSSARY

Battered - sloped (wider at the bottom than top)
Orthostat - large boulder or upright stone slab
Coping - top stones
Ring garth or head dyke - wall that separates the infield from the outfield
Dyke - term for dry stone wall or stone fence commonly used in Scotland
Longhouse - traditional Viking house comprising dwelling + byre under the same roof
Infield - land under cultivation within a head dyke
Outfield - rough grazing land outside of the head dyke

RELATED LINKS

A related article ‘Aspects of Medieval Landownership in SW Norway – and Shetland’ by Frans-Arne Stylegars. http://arkeologi.blogspot.com/2004/11/aspects-of-medieval-landownership-in.html?showComment=1212704580000