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Ordnance Survey - Caithness county, OS Name Books - Caithness county - Volume 3 - Parish of Dunnet, OS1/7/3

Continued entries/extra info

[Page] 70
County of Caithness -- Parish of Dunnet

[Note] -- The Kirk o' Banks appears to be of considerable antiquity - several old people who
remember seeing the walls standing 5 or 6 feet high tell me that they were built
of undressed and uncemented stones. There is no traditionary dedication in
connection with it as far as I can learn - It seems to have been divided into
Nave and Chancel. and that fact forbids the supposition of its belonging
to the very earliest period of ecclesiastical buildings in the North
The Silver rings were found deposited in short stone cists which contained human
remains - They are said to agree in size, form and weight with those found
in a great hoard discovered at Skaill in Orkney in 1858 - There were a
number of coins in the Skaill Hoard - The latest was struck at Bagdad in the
year A.D. 945 - "It is recorded in the Saga of King Hakon Hakson that when he
Passed southwards in the year 1263 he levied a tribute of rings from Caithness. so that
these ornaments must have been in common use in the 13th century"
The fact of these rings being found in cists point to one of two conclusions - either that
they were buried with the dead - or that they were concealed in the consecrated
ground for better security - 5 of the rings are in the Antiquarian Museum
of Edinburgh - and 3 in the Thurso Museum
[Signed] George Hobson. C.A. [Civilian Assistant]

These rings are said to
have been ornaments for wrists
viz. ''Wrist Bands''
[Initialled] R.H.

[Signed M, Banks C,A [Civilian Assistant]

Transcriber's notes

Words lost in fold of page.

Ordnance Survey - Caithness county, OS Name Books - Caithness county - Volume 3 - Parish of Dunnet, OS1/7/3

This volume contains information on place names found in the parish of Dunnet.

Ordnance Survey - Caithness county

Ordnance Survey was established in the 18th century to create maps, surveys and associated records for the entirety of Great Britain. These records are arranged by county. This entry has been created to enable searching for Ordnance Survey records for the county of Caithness, which is in the north of Scotland.

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