Overview
Venture underground into one of Scotland’s most mysterious souterrains.
Rennibister Earth House is a good example of an Orkney souterrain – a stone-lined underground passage, with a small chamber in the earth. When it was discovered in 1926, a mass of human bones were found on the floor belonging to about 18 individuals.
We don’t know how the remains of the six adults and 12 or so children came to be here. This is the only earth house where human remains have been found, though they seem to have been placed here during a later phase of use.
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Discover nearly 5,000 years of Orkney’s history and prehistory, including Rennibister Earth House, with our Orkney Digital Guide.
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