Containment, closure and red deer
a Late Neolithic butchery site at Skaill Bay, Mainland, Orkney
red deer, Neolithic, Orkney, Butchery site
Late Neolithic
Abstract
Erosion of sand dunes in the Bay of Skaill, close to the Neolithic site at Skara Brae, exposed a spread of faunal remains and stone tools representing a Late Neolithic butchery site separated by a wall from a deposit of articulated red deer bone. This is an unusual and significant bone assemblage comprising both fragmented and articulated remains of red deer together with some domesticates. Also a whale mandible was closely associated with the butchery area. An interpretation of the site incorporates a reappraisal of the role of red deer and cattle elsewhere in Late Neolithic Orkney.