Benie Hoose, also Bunyie Hoose, is a Neolithic site in the parish of Nesting, northeastern

Whalsay Whalsay ( sco, Whalsa; non, Hvalsey or ''Hvals-øy'', meaning 'Whale Island') is the sixth largest of the Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland. Geography Whalsay, also known as "The Bonnie Isle", is a peat-covered island in the Shetland I ...

, in the

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Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It is located approximately to the northwest of the

Standing Stones of Yoxie The Standing Stones of Yoxie is a Neolithic site in the parish of Nesting on the northeastern coast of Whalsay, in the Shetland islands of Scotland. It is located approximately to the southeast of Benie Hoose, not far from the steep cliffs of ...

, and about southeast of the

Pettigarths Field Cairns The Pettigarths Field Cairns is a Neolithic site in the parish of Nesting, northeastern Whalsay, in the Shetland islands of Scotland. It is located approximately to the northwest of Benie Hoose. The site contains upright stones as well as mas ...

. Benie Hoose and Yoxie demonstrate characteristics of 'paired houses'. It was excavated in 1954–1955 by Charles S. T. Calder who gave the items to the

National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture of Scotland, culture and History of Scotland, history, and the ...

in 1955–1956. Furthermore, its close proximity to Yoxie indicates that Druid priests probably lived in the house and performed ceremonies at the stones. OS (NKB) visited the site on 30 May 1968. The one-room site measures , and features a horned

forecourt Forecourt may refer to: * a courtyard at the front of a building * in racket sports, the front part of the court * the area in a filling station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that ...

Layout

The Benie Hoose is laid out in the form of a figure of eight, to the southeast of Pettigarths Field, about 30m from the lower hill slopes of Gamla Vord. The front elevation is curved and with a horn shaped courtyard. It has no similarity with other dwelling units (70 units seen here) but has identity with the Yoxie monument. The main block is of length and width while the forecourt is wide. The main block is set towards the hill. The walls are made of dry stones of thickness. The large number of tools and querns found here attests to the domestic nature of the Benie Hoose. There is a passage leading from the entrance. The complex has an elaborate drainage system which ensured that the interior remained dry. The floor of the chamber had stone flooring. The forecourt is D shaped and is conjectured as an animal pen. No stone made furniture was found which has led to the conclusion that the furniture must have been made of wood.

Artifacts

Calder unearthed an unusual quantity of tools and

quern Quern ( da, Kværn) is a former municipality in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populo ...

s, indicating there was a dwelling here, possibly a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

y, as 'Benie' is believed to be a local term for 'Bone House' or graveyard or a transliteration of the Old Norse 'Boenhus', which means 'a house of prayer' or chapel. Artifacts include 33 trough querns, and 1,800 implements such as axes, hammer stones, hammer pounders, picks, pot lids, pot shards, steatite (soapstone) pot handle, and a steatite spindle whorl. Based on architectural details and its location with respect to Yoxie, a nearby site, it is conjectured that the Benie Hoose was the residence of the priests who were associated with performing worship at the temple at Yoxie.

Cairns

Earlier archaeological explorations carried out at about north west of Benie House during 1936 and 1938 have revealed two

; the first one is on the south of the site which is square in shape measuring with a circular entry of , the other carn is a smaller circular one of diameter with cist in the shape of a rectangle. Both are inferred as tombs of the Late Stone and Early Bronze Ages.

References

{{Prehistoric Shetland Neolithic Scotland Archaeological sites in Shetland 1954 in Scotland Druidry Whalsay