Editing Barra (section)

===Early history===
Human presence on Barra since the [[Neolithic era]] was established by the discovery of a near-complete pottery beaker dating from 2500&nbsp;BC during the construction of a road in the 1990s. A number of stone remains were also found, including a Neolithic "work platform", which complement the several [[standing stone]]s scattered around the island. In the hills to the north of Borve, there is a large [[chambered cairn]], sited in a prominent position.

Beyond the main island, a [[Bronze Age]] cemetery is located on [[Vatersay]], as well as an [[Iron Age]] [[broch]]; the remains of a similarly aged broch is located on the east of Barra itself. Remains of Bronze Age burials and [[Iron Age]] roundhouses were also discovered in sand dunes, near the hamlet of [[Allasdale]], following storms in 2007{{refn|group="note"|In May of that year, [[Channel 4]]'s ''[[Time Team]]'' came to investigate the remains. The programme was broadcast on 20 January 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/2008/barra/index.html |title=Barra, Western Isles |publisher=[[Channel 4]] |access-date=21 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080123080317/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/2008/barra/index.html |archive-date=23 January 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}. Occupation of Barra continued during the later Iron Age, as evidenced by the discovery of a [[wheelhouse (archaeology)|wheelhouse]] from the end of the period, which was later re-occupied between the 3rd and 4th centuries, and again in the 7th and 8th centuries.

These occupations were followed in the 9th century by [[Viking]] settlers, who gave the island the [[Old Norse]] ''{{lang|non|ey}}'' ("island") part of its name.  Various origins of ''Barr'' have been suggested, including the Gaelic personal name ''{{lang|gd|[[Finbar (disambiguation)|Finnbarr]]}}'', the Old Norse elements ''{{lang|gd|berr}}'' or ''{{lang|gd|barr}}'' ("bare" or "rough"), and the [[Celtic language|Celtic]] element *''barr'' ("top" or "peak").<ref>{{cite book |last=Abrams |first=L |year=2007 |chapter=Conversion and the Church in the Hebrides in the Viking Age |editor1-last=Smith |editor1-first=BB |editor2-last=Taylor |editor2-first=S |editor3-last=Williams |editor3-first=G |title=West Over Sea: Studies in Scandinavian Sea-Borne Expansion and Settlement Before 1300 |series=The Northern World: North Europe and the Baltic {{circa|400–1700}} AD. Peoples, Economics and Cultures (series vol. 31) |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |location=Leiden |pages=169–193 |isbn=978-90-04-15893-1 |issn=1569-1462 }}</ref> According to the ancient [[Grettis saga]], the first viking to arrive was named ''Omund the Wooden-Leg''.

<gallery mode="packed-overlay" heights="180px">
File:Vatersay Fae037.jpg|Neolithic "work platform", near Vatersay
File:Borve Standing Stones.JPG|Standing stone at Borve
File:Vatersay Fae028.jpg|Iron Age wheelhouse near Vatersay
File:Bruernish broch 01.jpg|Broch at Bruernish
</gallery>