Rennibister Earth House

Rennibister Earth House is souterrain, an underground structure from the Iron Age on the mainland of Orkney. It was discovered in 1926 when a the weight of a threshing machine caused the roof to collapse. During the excavations, the skeletal remains of six adults and twelve children were uncovered.

The oval, 3.7 metre long and 2.5 metre wide chamber made of dry stonework, in which one can stand upright, has five side chambers and a ceiling with corbels, the span of which is shortened by being supported on four pillars. The entrance was via a 70 x 70 cm wide corridor, which originally led from a wooden roundhouse above ground. Today, the entrance, which leads via a vertical iron ladder, is located in the chamber.