Calf of Eday

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Calf of Eday is a small, now uninhabited island, which is upstream of the northwest coast of Eday, an island of Orkney in Scotland.

The normal tourist practically unattainable island offers two prehistoric monuments of outstanding importance for the construction and economic history debate in Scotland Orkney context.

These are firstly, the so-called potters workshop one of the orkadischenden round houses that are being discussed as a precursor of the classical Broch and the Stalled Cairns. The Long Cairn of the island is one of the few places on the northern islands where ceramics of the Bell Beaker Culture was found.

When another object is the so-called saltworks, an industrial monument of the second half of the 17th century directly on the northwest coast of the island. These saltworks originated in the efforts of the Scottish crown from about 1670, the ( späthanseatische ) salt monopoly for the fish processing the Dutch, German and Scandinavian fishermen in northern Scotland to break ( advent of Mattjes production as the salt preservation of cod / cod ).

The building of the saltworks of Eday is a simple, rectangular field stone construction with a central room divider. The middle wall was heated from one side by an open turf fire, over the hot wall sea water was then poured from the other side, the evaporated by the heat. The residual salt crystals were scraped off and filled into bags.

Production was discontinued after only a few years back, as the quality of the salt ( peaty flavor ) did not meet the needs of the fishing industry and the transport of necessary Torfmengen of Eday Calf caused the overcharges.

Tourist

The island is apart from participating in the excursions of the OCT - Orkney Arcaeological Trust (approx. per year twice) or participating in one of the teaching field trips regularly grave border on Orkney archaeologist ( which are possible through the mediation of Visit Orkney, the local tourist association, anytime ) hardly attainable. The objects themselves are not accessible for a public presentation and prepared, so that a visit is recommended only under expert guidance.