Two thick-walled stone buildings face the sea on Papa Westray, preserving the feel of a Neolithic farmstead. Knap of Howar may be the oldest preserved stone house in northern Europe, with radiocarbon dates earlier than Skara Brae.
The houses are not empty shells. Hearths, cupboards, partitions, beds, shelves, middens, old rubbish layers that preserve food and artefact evidence, pottery, animal evidence, crops, shellfish, and fish remains all help turn the site into a vivid record of everyday farming and seafaring life.
What follows is drawn from published sources, with each claim labelled by how firmly it is established.
History
Knap of Howar stands on Papa Westray in Orkney. Radiocarbon dating shows occupation from 3800 BC to 2800 BC.
The farmstead may be the oldest preserved stone house in northern Europe. The site consists of two adjacent rounded rectangular, thick-walled stone buildings.
The larger and older building is linked by a low passage to the second, interpreted as a workshop or second house. The buildings were constructed on an earlier midden and surrounded by midden material that helped preserve them.
The walls still stand to eaves height and the stone furniture is intact. Evidence from middens shows cattle, sheep and pigs were kept, barley and wheat cultivated, shellfish gathered, and line-caught fish taken by boat.
Unstan ware pottery links the inhabitants to nearby chambered cairns and farther sites. The name Howar is thought to derive from Old Norse haugr, meaning mounds or barrows.
What to look for
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Stone furniture
Beds, shelves, partitions, and a cupboard survive inside the buildings.
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Low passage
A narrow passage links the older house to the second building.
Plan your visit
- Location
- 59.3494°N · 2.9107°W
- Access
- Open access
- Terrain
- Easy going
Opening & admission
The source pack does not provide reliable current admission details; verify before travelling.
- The site is in Historic Scotland care; the pack gives no current admission details.
Nearby places
Fortified place · Medieval
Noltland Castle
Orkney Islands
One of Orkney's finest surviving tower houses, a heavily gun-looped Z-plan castle built by a courtier of Mary, Queen of Scots, and left unfinished…
Questions people ask
- What is Knap of Howar?
- It is a Neolithic farmstead on Papa Westray and may be northern Europe’s oldest preserved stone house.
- How old is it?
- Radiocarbon dating shows occupation from 3800 BC to 2800 BC.
- What survives inside?
- Hearths, a stone-built cupboard, partitions, beds, and storage shelves are almost intact.
- What did people do there?
- Midden evidence shows farming, crop cultivation, shellfish gathering, and fishing from boats.
Sources
- Wikipedia article
- Source pack: Knap of Howar
Explore more: Tomb or burial places · Prehistoric · Orkney Islands
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