Tomb or burial place · Prehistoric · Orkney Islands

Castle Bloody

Open access · Easy going

Photo: Claire Pegrum / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0

A prehistoric earth-house lies on Shapinsay near the ruined Linton Chapel. Castle Bloody is a souterrain (an underground stone-lined passage), an underground or partly underground earth-house, although the source notes that maps have marked it more generally as a chambered mound.

The pack is very thin, so the page stays close to the secure evidence: its island setting, its classification dispute, its relationship to nearby Linton Chapel, and scheduled-monument protection.

What follows is drawn from published sources, with each claim labelled by how firmly it is established.

History

Castle Bloody is a prehistoric feature on Shapinsay in Orkney.

C. Michael Hogan observed that the feature is marked as a chambered mound on the Ordnance Survey map.

Hogan classified it more specifically as a souterrain or earth house.

The ruined historic Linton Chapel stands slightly to the north.

Castle Bloody is protected as a scheduled monument.

People

  • C. Michael Hogan

    writer cited for classifying the feature as a souterrain or earth house.

Plan your visit

Location
59.0324°N · 2.8102°W
Access
Open access
Terrain
Easy going

Opening & admission

The source pack does not provide reliable current admission details; verify before travelling.

  • The pack gives classification and protection but no current access details.

Nearby places

Questions people ask

What is Castle Bloody?
It is a prehistoric feature on Shapinsay in Orkney.
What is a souterrain?
A souterrain is an underground or partly underground earth-house or passage-like structure.
How has it been classified?
The pack says it is marked as a chambered mound on the Ordnance Survey map, but Hogan classifies it as a souterrain or earth house.
What stands nearby?
The ruined Linton Chapel is slightly to the north.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia article
  2. Source pack: Castle Bloody

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