In this episode we’ll be finding out about the houses of the living and the dead. We travel back to Neolithic settlements and meet some of the people involved in digging Rousay's many tombs. Forward through time to brochs, disappearing Norse sites and the only large-scale clearance in Orkney. Visit Trumland and a house with indelible blood stains and call in on Rousay's longest living inhabitant.
Contributors in order of appearance:
Narrator: James Grieve 2024
Dr Sarah Jane Gibbon 2024
James Yorston 1990
Anne Brundle 1990
Martin Carruthers 2024
Dan Lee 2024
Mrs Clouston 1989
Howie Firth c1970s
Willie Thomson c1970s
Kath Gourlay 1987
Helen Firth 1987
Alexina Craigie 1966
Ellen Grieve 2023
Athol Grieve 2023
Ann Marwick 1990
Ernest Marwick n.d.
Edda Mainland n.d.
Mrs Wylie 1966
Chris Gee 2024
This podcast series was created using material from Orkney Library & Archive, Rousay Remembered, University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute and contemporary recordings made with the community of Rousay.
Creative team: Produced by Kolekto (Mark Jenkins & Rebecca Marr) and University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute led by Dan Lee.
New recordings and editing by Mark Jenkins (Kolekto)
New music composed and played by James Watson (Wooden Sole Music)
The project has been funded by Orkney Island Council, Rousay Egilsay and Wyre Development Trust (REWDT), Orkney Archaeology Society (OAS) and North Isles Landscape Partnership Scheme (NILPS).
What is Rousay Tales?
Welcome to Rousay Tales. This podcast series from Orkney, Scotland, will take you around the island of Rousay, exploring life in the past and present. We’ve used the resources of Orkney Library and Archive, Rousay Remembered and the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute, together with contemporary recordings, to bring you this series of themed episodes.
Rich in archaeology, Rousay is often called the ‘Egypt of the north’. Listen to stories from the archives, islanders and archaeologists woven with discoveries, folklore and places of intrigue. Find out about the houses for the living and the dead, crafts and making, fishing, and farming. Rousay Tales will transport you to this special island.
For more information and extra content visit https://archaeologyorkney.com/rousay-tales/