[Illustration: Fig. 212.—Long-Handled Bone Comb from the Broch of Burwick (4½ inches in length).]
The articles found during the excavation consisted of a number of stone pounders or hammer-stones, wasted at the ends by use, round flat stone discs of various sizes roughly chipped to shape, broken mortars or vessels of various sizes roughly hollowed in naturally-shaped boulders of sandstone (one being apparently a stone mould for an iron _crusie_), a considerable number of bone implements of various kinds, among which are several bone pins, one of which (Fig. 211) is flat at the point, has an ornamented head, and has been furnished with a loop for suspension at the side; a polished bone handle in which an instrument, apparently of iron, has been inserted; two spindle-whorls, one of bone and the other of stone; portions of deer-horns cut into slips and pierced by peg-holes; two long-handled combs made of deer-horn, one of which is here figured (Fig. 212); one double-edged comb of bone, and one single-edged comb with round back (Fig. 213), both formed in several pieces, [Illustration: Fig. 213.—Round-backed, single-edged Comb from Broch of Burwick.] neatly joined and held together by transverse slips of bone fastened with rivets. The only iron object found was a portion of a cylindrical rod. The pottery was coarse, thick, unglazed, and unornamented, except one piece of dark-coloured ware resembling the black ware made in Roman kilns in several parts of England. The animal remains were chiefly those of the ox, the sheep or goat, the horse, the swine, and the red-deer.
The Broch of Okstrow, in Birsay, excavated by Mr. Leask of Boardhouse, yielded a number of the commoner implements of stone, such as hammer-stones and rough circular discs, a well-made cup of sandstone, 3½ inches in diameter [Illustration: Fig. 214.—Cap of Sandstone from Broch of Okstrow (3½ inches in diameter).] (Fig. 214), its cavity still bearing the marks of the pointed tool by which it was fashioned; a thin flat disc of compact slaty stone, 3¼ inches diameter, smoothly polished on both sides, and ground flat on the edges like those from the Brochs of Burray, Old Stirkoke, and Kintradwell; three lamps of sandstone, one of which seems an unskilful imitation of the form of a Roman lamp (Fig. 215); while the others (Fig. <span class='htmlonly'>216</span><span class='epubonly'>216</span>) are similar to the lamp from Kettleburn. [Illustration: Figs. 215, 216.—Lamps from the Broch of Okstrow.] Among the other objects found were two of the long-handled combs of bone, a flat piece of bone resembling a weaver’s rubbing implement for smoothing or calendering the web after it is woven, and several spindle-whorls of stone and bone; a bone ring, 2 inches diameter, perforated with small holes, and a tableman made of an ox tooth. [Illustration: Fig. 217.—Bronze Pin from Broch of Okstrow (4¾ inches in length).] The objects in metal were a bronze pin, 4¾ inches in length (Fig. 217), ornamented with [Illustration: Fig. 218.—Penannular Brooch of Bronze from Broch of Okstrow (1½ inch in diameter).] engraved lines, and having a small ring, ¾ inch in diameter, inserted in a loop at the head of the pin; a small penannular brooch of bronze of Celtic form (Fig. 218), with flattened and slightly expanded ends terminating in the semblance of animals’ heads; and a mounting of bronze, 3 inches in length (Fig. 219), chased on the upper surface, and having perforated prolongations, as if for fastening it to some other object. Besides the usual fragments of plain unglazed pottery of native manufacture, there were in this Broch again several pieces of the red lustrous ware commonly called Samian. These pieces indicate two vessels—one a bowl of about 6 inches diameter; the other a shallow straight-sided vessel of considerable size. Both had been broken and mended by the insertion of soft metal clamps in holes drilled close to the sides of the fracture.