Holm of Papa

{{short description|Small uninhabited island in the Orkney Islands, Scotland}}

{{Infobox Scottish island

|Image= Holm of Papay.jpg

|ImageCaption= Holm of Papa, viewed across South Wick, from Papa Westray

|location_map= Scotland Orkney

|caption= Holm of Papa shown within Orkney

|coordinates = {{coord|59|21|03|N|2|52|07|W|type:isle_region:GB|display=inline,title}}

|GridReference=HY507519

|celtic name=

|norse name=

|meaning of name=

|area=21 ha{{RLTIS}}

|area rank=

|highest elevation= 15 m

|Population=0{{NRS1C}}

|population rank=

|main settlement=

|island group=Orkney

|local authority=Orkney Islands

|references=Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 400{{cite map|title=Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 5 Orkney (Northern Isles)|ISBN=9780319228111|publisher=Ordnance Survey|date=2008}}

}}

The Holm of Papa (or Holm of Papay, Holm of Papa Westray and known locally as the Papay Holm,[http://www.papawestray.co.uk/] papawestray.co.uk.[http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/208] themodernantiquarian.com.[http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/2009/09/18/eyebrows-link-westray-figurine-with-burial-chamber/ "Eyebrows link Westray figurine with burial chamber"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326030606/http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/2009/09/18/eyebrows-link-westray-figurine-with-burial-chamber/ |date=26 March 2014 }} Orkneyjar. Retrieved 1 April 2014.) is a very small uninhabited island in the Orkney Islands. It is around {{convert|21|ha}} in size. It can be visited from its neighbouring island Papa Westray, or Papay, an island less than a hundred metres west of the Holm.

Prehistory

The main sight on the small island is the Southcairn, a 20 metre long chambered cairn dating from approx. 3000 BC on whose stones one can find ancient carvings.{{cite web |title=Holm of Papay |url=https://www.papawestray.co.uk/history/holm-of-papay.html |accessdate=2008-10-05 |publisher=Papay Development Trust}} The long, stalled cairn, built of local stone, was once a communal burial place for the bones of an ancient community. It is protected by a modern roof and entered by a trapdoor from above. It is possible that the inhabitants of the Knap of Howar buried their dead here. There are three ancient chambered cairns on the holm. Visitors can arrange privately for small boat access through the Co-op shop on Papa Westray. The cairn is readily visible from the larger island.

“Eyebrow motif” carvings found in the southernmost chambered cairn bear a resemblance to the "eyes" of the Orkney Venus found at Links of Noltland on Westray.

History

Joseph Anderson noted that in the Orkneyinga saga "The two Papeys, the great and the little (anciently Papey Meiri and Papey Minni), now Papa Westray and Papa Stronsay, are both mentioned in the Saga. Fordun in his enumeration of the islands, has a 'Papeay tertia' [third Papey], which is not now known."Anderson (1893) Footnote to Chapter XVIII, p.38 William Thomson suggests that "perhaps Papay Tercia was the Holm of Papay — not a separate papar-site but a holm subsidiary to Papa Westray".Thomson, William P.L. " The Orkney Papar-names" in Ballin Smith (2007) p. 517

Footnotes

References

{{Orkneyinga}}
Ballin Smith, Beverley, Taylor, Simon and Williams, Gareth (eds) (2007) West Over Sea: Studies in Scandinavian Sea-borne Expansion and Settlement Before 1300. Brill. {{ISBN|90-04-15893-6}}
{{Haswell-Smith}}

Category:4th-millennium BC architecture in Scotland

Category:Uninhabited islands of Orkney

Category:Important Bird Areas of Orkney

Category:Scheduled monuments in Orkney

Category:Chambered cairns in Scotland