AN island community is set to become the first in Scotland to buy an ancient monument after it secured more than £300,000 in crucial funding.
The protected Tomb of the Eagles at Isbister in South Ronaldsay, Orkney Islands, will soon be open to visitors once again after a community trust was awarded almost £358,000 in funding.
The bones of around 300 people were placed in the Neolithic tomb around 5000 years ago, with the remains of several sea eagles later found at the site.
Despite it being a popular tourist destination, the protected site has been closed since Covid, as the family who ran the site, which is located on their land, decided to retire.
Orkney Isles Council concluded that the best option for the Tomb of the Eagles was for the community to buy it.
Steve Sankey, of the South Ronaldsay and Burray Community Trust, said islanders were “delighted” they had successfully secured funding from the Scottish Land Fund (SLF) to help them buy out the ancient site.
“We have been told this is the first time that a community in Scotland will buy an ancient scheduled monument, so we are pretty happy about that,” Sankey told The Scotsman.
“The support from the community to do this has been unbelievable. On a small island, you normally get one or two naysayers, but everybody, everybody has been so supportive.”
According to The Scotsman, SLF will cover 80% of the cost of the visitor centre, the
The SLF will cover 80 per cent of the cost of the visitor centre, the Neolithic tomb, along with a nearby Bronze Age site and the farmhouse which once belonged to Ronnie Simison and his wife, Morgan.
In the 1950s, Simison excavated the tomb, and the couple spent much of their lives showing visitors their findings along with enthusing them with their knowledge.
The Tomb of the Eagles, which has been described as being “crucial” to the understanding of Orkney’s Neolithic history, could be reopened by August 1 and run by volunteers.
A crowdfunding campaign is currently underway to help raise the further £30,000 needed to reopen the site.
Following the closure of the Tomb of the Eagles, important artefacts were removed and are now on display at Orkney Museum in Kirkwall.
Sankey said the originals would have to remain there given storage and insurance limitations, with replicas due to be made for the display at Isbister.
He added there will be replica skulls of “Charlie and Jock”, the two main figures in the story of the tomb, along with pottery, jewellery and the talons of the sea eagles in the tomb for visitors to see.
