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St. Kilda [Overview]

St. Kilda, Invernessshire.

Generic reference to caves on the islands of St. Kilda. No cave at these coordinates.

Staniforth estimates 50 sea caves, 31 on Hirta, 6 on Dun, 56 on Soay and 7 on Boreray.

St Kilda lies 64km west of Harris in the outer Hebrides. The 100m isobath almost joins it to the Hebrides, so that it is likely to have been linked to mainland Scotland at times and continuous with the Devensian ice sheet at the peak of the last glaciation. Current interpretations suggest that St Kilda became a separate island, or group of islands, shortly before 12,000 years ago. Submarine caves occur around St Kilda, with several west facing caves that should be regarded as potential sites for the preservation of early archaeology. The archipelago is subject to wind and waves from all directions, though predominantly from the south and south-west. St Kilda has been the focus of much archaeological work in recent years. Finds of stone tools suggest that the island group has been inhabited since the Neolithic, some 5000 years ago (Fleming, 2005). St Kilda is visible on the horizon from the Hebrides in clear conditions, so it is not surprising to find that local seafarers made the trip out, though earlier archaeological work had concentrated on later material. Fleming argues that St Kilda occupied a central role within Hebridean culture well into recent times (ibid) and remains from all major periods have now been recorded here. The steep mountainous topography of St Kilda meant that settlement was relatively confined, and the people had to look to coastal and marine resources for survival right up to the evacuation of the island in the early 20th century AD. The recent designation of St Kilda as a World Heritage Site is in recognition of the quality of both the archaeological remains and the natural heritage, both on land and underwater.

Alternative Names: Caves of St. Kilda, St. Kilda (Caves of)

Notes: Stanforth' s estimate based on use of geo to mean cave while it actually means creak or narrow channel so some geos may not be caves.

Lengths are given in entries for individual caves.

Much of the pioneering work on St Kilda was done by archaeologist Dr Mary Harman working with RCHAMS in the 1970s and 80s.

See also Caves of Hirta and Caves of Soay.

For those searching for St Kilda on the Internet be aware the majority of hits refer to the town of St Kilda in Queensland, Australia, so try to narrow your searches.