§ Mr. WallaceTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment his Department and Historic Scotland have made of the effect of extreme weather conditions in January on archaeological sites in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Lang[holding answer 25 February 1993]: Inspectors from Historic Scotland have visited a selection of sites damaged by the January storms on Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles. The Orkney Islands archaeologist is conducting detailed inspection of damage to sites in Orkney with financial support from Historic Scotland. Historic Scotland will fund at least one small excavation at Tuquoy in Orkney, to follow up damage in January to a site on which excavations were undertaken in advance of coastal erosion which took place up to 1988. Historic Scotland also plans further assessment at the Brough of Birsay as a consequence of storm damage. Sampling is being arranged at one damaged site in the Western Isles; other sites visited by an inspector following storm damage had been sampled previously and no systematic survey is planned. No request has been received to date from the Shetland Islands archaeologist for emergency assessment of sites following the January storms. No systematic survey is planned but Historic Scotland inspectors will shortly be carrying out a further inspection. Assessment of the effects of pollution from oil spilled from the Braer wreck on Jarlshof and neighbouring sites has already commenced. No reports have been received of damage to archaeological sites elsewhere in Scotland from the extreme weather conditions in January.