This adventure takes place in the Orkney Isles to the north of Scotland, on the margin between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The story can take place in the Cthulhu Now, modern setting, or in the Classic era; it's not really suitable for the Gaslight time period. The party should have a track record for messing about with archaeological locations, or simply have a large number of archaeologically adept individuals on board.
Archaeological sites are regularly noted by agencies that oversee such locations and, if funds are insufficient to commence work (and they are ever so), the location is noted and then ignored until funds become available. Oftentimes, these sites are logged on a map and then forgotten. Sometimes, though, if threats appear that might ruin the site, money can be quickly organised to begin an investigation, or to repair any damage and re-cover the site until later. In the Classic Era of "Call of Cthulhu" that agency is the Scottish Department of Works; in the Modern Era it's the agency called Scotland Heritage. Any of the people who work for these groups might know one or more of the archaeological party members and contact them to get involved.
In this scenario an ancient site on the Orkneys has been attacked and the party members are contacted by their associate - possibly an old university lecturer or professor - and asked if they would like to take over the examination and rescue of the site, pro bono, until such time as funds can be scraped together. Obviously they are free to turn down the assignment, but the keeper should apply as much pressure as possible in order to convince them to take it on.
The focus of this adventure is an ancient monument called "Devil's Knowe" it was identified in 1866 and listed on a register of such features in the Orkney Isles and has since been forgotten. In recent days, a group of local people attacked the site, breaking it open and setting fire to it. A local Anglican priest contacted the authorities and the race is on to see what damage has been done and if the site can be salvaged.
Cairns and other Constructions...
In recent times, research into the nature of the Neolithic constructions on the Orkney Isles has yielded some hugely interesting material. Archaeological finds have resulted in new information regarding the tribal lifestyle of the local people on the Isles and of their impact, not just on the rest of the British Isles, but also the wider Celtic society of Europe. The main focus of these digs are the cairns - large communal burial chambers buried beneath mounds - that litter the Orkneys. These mounds have a large variety of designations derived from the local dialects - "howes"; "knapps"; "nesses"; "brocks"; "braes" - but the most common term is "knowe". Specifically, these terms identify turfed, low manmade hillocks, beneath which are found various types of constructions, usually tombs but sometimes houses and even whole villages. The most famous of these include the "Tomb of the Eagles" at Isbister, the village of Skara Brae and Maes Howe, an extensive communal tomb on Orkney's Mainland isle.
Many of these sites were identified in the Victorian era and, while some were left alone, others were interfered with by various over-eager landlords. The most famous of these was Skara Brae, which was uncovered by a severe storm in 1850 and which became the focus of an amateur dig by the land's owner. It was covered over and listed in 1868 with the intention of raising funds for a professional dig, but thieves broke the site open in 1924 and stole a large number of artefacts. Consequently, the site was handed over to the University of Edinburgh in 1927 and a dig was launched by the esteemed archaeologist Gordon Vere Childe who operated the site for many years thereafter. Likewise, the Tomb of the Eagles in Isbister was identified and left alone for later examination, but the farmer who owned the land, despairing of ever knowing what lay beneath the mound, taught himself the basics of archaeological dig procedures and launched his own examination. With no other option, the Scottish Ministry of Works scared up the money to add credibility to his endeavours. The dig is now considered one of the Isle's most significant sites.
The cairns consist of stone-walled chambers of various sizes and complexities and identified by the number of chambers they comprise. the most basic is the 'cist' (pronounced as you would say 'kissed') which is a small stone-lined box, in essence. The larger cairns are extensions of this basic model. The walls are made of flat pieces of stone laid atop each other without mortar and which lean together to form arched roofs. The biggest chambers are never more than 3.5 metres in height. The chambers are buttressed by soil and loose stones and are covered over with turf; occasionally the resulting mound is reinforced by one or more ring-walls of stone as extra support. This basic format - along with many other features of siting and content - has many permutations which will become relevant later to our party's investigation.
The Orkney Isles
The Orkneys are a straggling chain of islands at the northern extremity of Scotland extending out in the North Sea. The islands were largely barren and desolate before settlement by human beings in the Stone Age and their original character has been altered by human settlement since that time. It's thought by some that the early settlers came there to seek security from other warlike tribes but this is uncertain.
The first arrivals brought sheep, goats and cows with them, and later, deer, none of which are indigenous to the Isles. Seabirds, seals and whales comprise the natural wildlife. the various islands were settled by different tribes and loose allegiances were formed between them. A culture arose from this settling which had its spiritual and authoritative centre at Maes Howe and the Ness of Brodgar.
Most of the Isles are completely turned over to agricultural efforts of various types, either dairy-farming, sheep and goats for wool and meat, or grain crops. Fishing is also of importance. In World War Two, the Isles became strategically important to Britain during the Battle of the Atlantic and shipping still plays an important role in the modern economy. With the discovery of oil and natural gas in the North Sea the Orkney economy is largely independent from greater Scotland.
The Isles are exposed to various kinds of weather, most of them inclement. Situated at the meeting of the Atlantic and the North Sea, the confluence of wind and waves has led to treacherous currents and violent storms, such as that which uncovered Skara Brae. Sunny days are few and far between and even those that do eventuate are marred by some form of precipitation. This combined with the rolling flat landscape, punctuated by towering cliffs and stark standing stones, lends the place a mournful, wild beauty which few are unaffected by.
Welcome to Hoy
Our story focuses on an archaeological site on the western end of the Isle of Hoy south of Mainland. Hoy is largely unpopulated and given over mainly to agricultural activities. Towards the centre of the island are high rolling hills with steep valleys, ground down by the glacial action of the past. The main civic centre of Hoy is the sprawling township of Longhope on the southern side; our group will be focussing their activities on the northern settlement of Linksness.
Linksness looks northeast to the main island of Mainland and is backed by hills. Over these hills is a wide rolling valley then more hills and then the agricultural centre of Murra on the northwestern coast. The party will have to catch a ferry from Mainland to Hoy and they will be met by Reverend Hamish MacTavish, the Anglican minister who reported the vandalism done to the Knowe. The Reverend will be happy to put the party up at the rectory.
The rectory is a low rambling building to one side of the modest stone church which serves Linksness. There are rooms enough for all the party members (assuming some don't mind doubling-up) and the place is pleasant and cosy. The Reverend explains that his wife is away at the moment offering comfort to a local family who have suffered a bereavement. He leads the group into his study to explain the circumstances as to why he called them here. The study is comfortable, with a nice fireplace, and decorated with many engravings of standing stones, maps of archaeological digs and stone artefacts, many acting as paperweights. The Reverend will confess to having become an amateur archaeologist since his arrival on the Orkneys.
Reverend MacTavish will explain that the local community are in an uproar because a small child has gone missing, last seen roaming the hills behind the settlement. Days have passed and hope of finding the child alive has rapidly faded. He explains that the vandalism to the Devil's Knowe, he feels, is some kind of superstitious retaliation for the child's absence, the site long having an ill-reputation among the locals. He explains that the Church owns some plots of land in the district, a glebe of land that runs up and over the hills behind the church and that it lies near the site of the damage.
If the party asks what sort of damage has been done to the Knowe, the Reverend says that someone cut the turf at the top of the mound and poured petrol, or kerosene, into the cairn from above, before setting it alight. He laments the irrecoverable damage that might have been done to any artefacts inside, but praises God that a storm arose and extinguished the fire before it got too far out of control. If asked why the vandalism would have occurred now, Mactavish states that the local community lays the blame for many misfortunes at the door of the Devil's Knowe, following a long-held belief that some kind of devil is trapped within it. Obviously, the loss of the missing child is yet another in a long line of mishaps to be attributed to the 'Knowe.
Some party members might scoff at this theory; however, the Reverend explains that many people in the district feel the land is cursed by the presence of the Knowe and stay away from it at all costs. He mentions the Dwarfie Stane, another Neolithic site on the island, and says that for many years, folk traditions held that it was a place to be avoided, especially on certain nights of the year. This chambered tomb - which is only about a metre high inside - is carved from an enormous block of red sandstone deposited by glacial activity millennia ago. It lies in the hills to the south side of Hoy between Rackwick and Quoy and has traditionally been ascribed to the hands of giants, although legend states that it was the house of a dwarf named Trollin. Recent research has noted the interior dimensions resemble other communal tombs in the Isles and the prevailing belief is that it was an experiment in tomb construction that was later abandoned. the Reverend explains that such legendry often accretes around ancient monuments and is one reason that he decided to take an interest in archaeology, in order to dispel the wrong-thinking.
At some point, the Reverend's wife Maeve returns home and greets the party. It's clear that she's had a rough time helping the bereaved and will be grateful for any assistance the party offers in helping to prepare beds and meals and so forth. With the onset of darkness (around 3.00pm) a howling gale and heavy rain descend blanketing the island in dreary meteorology...
In this scenario an ancient site on the Orkneys has been attacked and the party members are contacted by their associate - possibly an old university lecturer or professor - and asked if they would like to take over the examination and rescue of the site, pro bono, until such time as funds can be scraped together. Obviously they are free to turn down the assignment, but the keeper should apply as much pressure as possible in order to convince them to take it on.
The focus of this adventure is an ancient monument called "Devil's Knowe" it was identified in 1866 and listed on a register of such features in the Orkney Isles and has since been forgotten. In recent days, a group of local people attacked the site, breaking it open and setting fire to it. A local Anglican priest contacted the authorities and the race is on to see what damage has been done and if the site can be salvaged.
Cairns and other Constructions...
In recent times, research into the nature of the Neolithic constructions on the Orkney Isles has yielded some hugely interesting material. Archaeological finds have resulted in new information regarding the tribal lifestyle of the local people on the Isles and of their impact, not just on the rest of the British Isles, but also the wider Celtic society of Europe. The main focus of these digs are the cairns - large communal burial chambers buried beneath mounds - that litter the Orkneys. These mounds have a large variety of designations derived from the local dialects - "howes"; "knapps"; "nesses"; "brocks"; "braes" - but the most common term is "knowe". Specifically, these terms identify turfed, low manmade hillocks, beneath which are found various types of constructions, usually tombs but sometimes houses and even whole villages. The most famous of these include the "Tomb of the Eagles" at Isbister, the village of Skara Brae and Maes Howe, an extensive communal tomb on Orkney's Mainland isle.
Many of these sites were identified in the Victorian era and, while some were left alone, others were interfered with by various over-eager landlords. The most famous of these was Skara Brae, which was uncovered by a severe storm in 1850 and which became the focus of an amateur dig by the land's owner. It was covered over and listed in 1868 with the intention of raising funds for a professional dig, but thieves broke the site open in 1924 and stole a large number of artefacts. Consequently, the site was handed over to the University of Edinburgh in 1927 and a dig was launched by the esteemed archaeologist Gordon Vere Childe who operated the site for many years thereafter. Likewise, the Tomb of the Eagles in Isbister was identified and left alone for later examination, but the farmer who owned the land, despairing of ever knowing what lay beneath the mound, taught himself the basics of archaeological dig procedures and launched his own examination. With no other option, the Scottish Ministry of Works scared up the money to add credibility to his endeavours. The dig is now considered one of the Isle's most significant sites.
The cairns consist of stone-walled chambers of various sizes and complexities and identified by the number of chambers they comprise. the most basic is the 'cist' (pronounced as you would say 'kissed') which is a small stone-lined box, in essence. The larger cairns are extensions of this basic model. The walls are made of flat pieces of stone laid atop each other without mortar and which lean together to form arched roofs. The biggest chambers are never more than 3.5 metres in height. The chambers are buttressed by soil and loose stones and are covered over with turf; occasionally the resulting mound is reinforced by one or more ring-walls of stone as extra support. This basic format - along with many other features of siting and content - has many permutations which will become relevant later to our party's investigation.
The Orkney Isles
The Orkneys are a straggling chain of islands at the northern extremity of Scotland extending out in the North Sea. The islands were largely barren and desolate before settlement by human beings in the Stone Age and their original character has been altered by human settlement since that time. It's thought by some that the early settlers came there to seek security from other warlike tribes but this is uncertain.
The first arrivals brought sheep, goats and cows with them, and later, deer, none of which are indigenous to the Isles. Seabirds, seals and whales comprise the natural wildlife. the various islands were settled by different tribes and loose allegiances were formed between them. A culture arose from this settling which had its spiritual and authoritative centre at Maes Howe and the Ness of Brodgar.
Most of the Isles are completely turned over to agricultural efforts of various types, either dairy-farming, sheep and goats for wool and meat, or grain crops. Fishing is also of importance. In World War Two, the Isles became strategically important to Britain during the Battle of the Atlantic and shipping still plays an important role in the modern economy. With the discovery of oil and natural gas in the North Sea the Orkney economy is largely independent from greater Scotland.
The Isles are exposed to various kinds of weather, most of them inclement. Situated at the meeting of the Atlantic and the North Sea, the confluence of wind and waves has led to treacherous currents and violent storms, such as that which uncovered Skara Brae. Sunny days are few and far between and even those that do eventuate are marred by some form of precipitation. This combined with the rolling flat landscape, punctuated by towering cliffs and stark standing stones, lends the place a mournful, wild beauty which few are unaffected by.
Welcome to Hoy
Our story focuses on an archaeological site on the western end of the Isle of Hoy south of Mainland. Hoy is largely unpopulated and given over mainly to agricultural activities. Towards the centre of the island are high rolling hills with steep valleys, ground down by the glacial action of the past. The main civic centre of Hoy is the sprawling township of Longhope on the southern side; our group will be focussing their activities on the northern settlement of Linksness.
Linksness looks northeast to the main island of Mainland and is backed by hills. Over these hills is a wide rolling valley then more hills and then the agricultural centre of Murra on the northwestern coast. The party will have to catch a ferry from Mainland to Hoy and they will be met by Reverend Hamish MacTavish, the Anglican minister who reported the vandalism done to the Knowe. The Reverend will be happy to put the party up at the rectory.
The rectory is a low rambling building to one side of the modest stone church which serves Linksness. There are rooms enough for all the party members (assuming some don't mind doubling-up) and the place is pleasant and cosy. The Reverend explains that his wife is away at the moment offering comfort to a local family who have suffered a bereavement. He leads the group into his study to explain the circumstances as to why he called them here. The study is comfortable, with a nice fireplace, and decorated with many engravings of standing stones, maps of archaeological digs and stone artefacts, many acting as paperweights. The Reverend will confess to having become an amateur archaeologist since his arrival on the Orkneys.
Reverend MacTavish will explain that the local community are in an uproar because a small child has gone missing, last seen roaming the hills behind the settlement. Days have passed and hope of finding the child alive has rapidly faded. He explains that the vandalism to the Devil's Knowe, he feels, is some kind of superstitious retaliation for the child's absence, the site long having an ill-reputation among the locals. He explains that the Church owns some plots of land in the district, a glebe of land that runs up and over the hills behind the church and that it lies near the site of the damage.
If the party asks what sort of damage has been done to the Knowe, the Reverend says that someone cut the turf at the top of the mound and poured petrol, or kerosene, into the cairn from above, before setting it alight. He laments the irrecoverable damage that might have been done to any artefacts inside, but praises God that a storm arose and extinguished the fire before it got too far out of control. If asked why the vandalism would have occurred now, Mactavish states that the local community lays the blame for many misfortunes at the door of the Devil's Knowe, following a long-held belief that some kind of devil is trapped within it. Obviously, the loss of the missing child is yet another in a long line of mishaps to be attributed to the 'Knowe.
Some party members might scoff at this theory; however, the Reverend explains that many people in the district feel the land is cursed by the presence of the Knowe and stay away from it at all costs. He mentions the Dwarfie Stane, another Neolithic site on the island, and says that for many years, folk traditions held that it was a place to be avoided, especially on certain nights of the year. This chambered tomb - which is only about a metre high inside - is carved from an enormous block of red sandstone deposited by glacial activity millennia ago. It lies in the hills to the south side of Hoy between Rackwick and Quoy and has traditionally been ascribed to the hands of giants, although legend states that it was the house of a dwarf named Trollin. Recent research has noted the interior dimensions resemble other communal tombs in the Isles and the prevailing belief is that it was an experiment in tomb construction that was later abandoned. the Reverend explains that such legendry often accretes around ancient monuments and is one reason that he decided to take an interest in archaeology, in order to dispel the wrong-thinking.
At some point, the Reverend's wife Maeve returns home and greets the party. It's clear that she's had a rough time helping the bereaved and will be grateful for any assistance the party offers in helping to prepare beds and meals and so forth. With the onset of darkness (around 3.00pm) a howling gale and heavy rain descend blanketing the island in dreary meteorology...
To Be Continued...
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