(Redirected by "Sigurd Towrie" <sigurd@orkneyjar.com>) *********** BEGIN REDIRECTED MESSAGE *********** as sigurd will no doubt amplify, traditionally kirks were built near the shore throughout the islands, Northern and Western as well as in mainland Scotland. This is no doubt for several reasons, access being perhaps the most important for times when there were no roads or wheels. However I feel that the tradition probably goes back much, much further, indeed to the time of the first people who arrived after the ice retreated in Mesolithic times upwards of 8,000 years ago. These folk had a "hunter-gatherer" lifestyle and especially relied on the sea of a livelihood. They tended to live in seasonal camps rather than permanent settlements. Due to the rise in sea level since the last Ice Age it is thought that much of the evidence (already scant) left by these people has been submerged. However with the coming of farming (whether by new people or not) settlement did develop and by this time sea level was at about the same level as today. I think that there were certain coastal sites which were important to the people in these times, whether as burial places, for worship or whatever, and that these same sites were later taken over by the Christians rather than developed by them. The coastal siting of most of the brochs should also be noted in this context. While sandy places are easy to dig, they are also good places for other species to forage and dig, as well as for erosion, so that in many of these kirkyards bones come to the surface or the shore erodes, exposing skulls and things. Christianity only goes back at most 1,400-1,500 years, and was introduced or imposed on an existing set of beliefs which no doubt went back to long before the mesolithic. here endeth the lecture. Oh by the way most of these places are really nice to visit.... -- Charles Tait Photographic Limited, Kelton, St Ola, Orkney, UK KW15 1TR Tel 01856 873738 Fax 01856 875313 Mobile 07785 220269 All outgoing and incoming mail is checked by Norton Antivirus 2003 email charles.tait@zetnet.co.uk website http://www.charles-tait.co.uk *********** END REDIRECTED MESSAGE ***********