Benie Hoose

Benie Hoose
Benie Hoose is located in Shetland
Benie Hoose
Benie Hoose location in Whalsay, Shetland
LocationShetland, Scotland
Coordinates60°22′00″N 0°56′20″W / 60.366721°N 0.938896°W / 60.366721; -0.938896
BuiltNeolithic age

Benie Hoose, also Bunyie Hoose, is a Neolithic site in the parish of Nesting, northeastern Whalsay, in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. It is located approximately 100 yards (91 m) to the northwest of the Standing Stones of Yoxie, and about 140 metres (460 ft) southeast of the Pettigarths Field Cairns.[1][2] Benie' is believed to be a local term for 'Bone House' or graveyard or a transliteration of the Old Norse 'Boenhus', which means 'a house of prayer' or chapel.[1] Based on architectural details and its location with respect to Yoxie, a nearby site, it is conjectured that the Benie Hoose was the residence of the priests who were associated with performing worship at the temple at Yoxie.[3] Benie Hoose and Yoxie demonstrate characteristics of 'paired houses'.[4] OS (NKB) visited the site on 30 May 1968.[1] The one-room[5] site measures 24.4 by 12.8 metres (80 ft × 42 ft),[6] and features a horned forecourt.[7]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference SP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Castleden, Rodney (1992). Neolithic Britain: New Stone Age Sites of England, Scotland, and Wales. Routledge. p. 335. ISBN 978-0-415-05845-2. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Inventory was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Downes, Jane; Lamb, Raymond (2000). Prehistoric houses at Sumburgh in Shetland: excavations at Sumburgh Airport 1967–74. Oxbow Books. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-84217-003-8. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  5. ^ MacSween, Ann; Sharp, Mick (1 May 1990). Prehistoric Scotland. New Amsterdam. p. 30. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  6. ^ Owen, Olwyn; Lowe, Christopher (1999). Kebister: The Four-thousand-year-old Story of One Shetland Township. Society Antiquaries Scotland. pp. 178–. ISBN 978-0-903903-14-1. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  7. ^ Laing, Lloyd Robert (1974). Orkney and Shetland: an archaeological guide. David & Charles. pp. 70, 71. Retrieved 1 February 2013.