Editing Orkney (section)

===Iron Age===
[[File:Midhowe Broch.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A semi-circular stone wall at left hints at the existence of a large and ancient building and to the right are the ruins of various other stone structures. In the background a low cliff divides a body of water from grassy fields.|[[Midhowe Broch]] on the west coast of [[Rousay]]]]

Excavations at [[Quanterness chambered cairn|Quanterness]] on the Mainland have revealed an [[Atlantic roundhouse]] built about 700 BC and similar finds have been made at Bu on the Mainland and Pierowall Quarry on Westray.<ref>Wickham-Jones (2007) pp. 81–84.</ref> The most impressive [[Iron Age]] structures of Orkney are the ruins of later round towers called "[[broch]]s" and their associated settlements such as the [[Broch of Burroughston]]<ref>Hogan, C. Michael (2007) [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=7891 ''Burroughston Broch''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610071233/http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=7891 |date=10 June 2011 }}. The Megalithic Portal. Retrieved 4 October 2009.</ref> and [[Broch of Gurness]]. The nature and origin of these buildings is a subject of debate. Other structures from this period include [[Souterrain|underground storehouses]] and [[Wheelhouse (archaeology)|aisled roundhouses]], the latter usually in association with earlier broch sites.<ref>Ritchie, Graham "The Early Peoples" in Omand (2003) pp. 35–37.</ref><ref>Crawford, Iain "The wheelhouse" in Smith and Banks (2002) pp. 118–22.</ref>

During the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] invasion of Britain the "King of Orkney" was one of 11 British leaders who is said to have submitted to the Emperor [[Claudius]] in AD 43 at [[Camulodunum]] (modern Colchester).<ref>Moffat (2005) pp. 173–75.</ref>{{#tag:ref|Thompson (2008) suggests that there was an element of Roman "boasting" involved, given that it was known to them that the ''Orcades'' lay at the northern extremity of the British Isles.<ref>Thompson (2008) pp. 4–5</ref> Similarly, Ritchie describes Tacitus' claims that Rome "conquered" Orkney as "a political puff, for there is no evidence of Roman military presence".<ref>Ritchie, Graham "The Early Peoples" in Omand (2003) p. 36</ref>|group="Notes"}} After the Agricolan fleet had come and gone, possibly anchoring at [[Shapinsay]], direct Roman influence seems to have been limited to trade rather than conquest.<ref name=Thomson4>Thomson (2005) pp. 4–6.</ref>
[[Polemius Silvius]] wrote a list of Late Roman provinces, which [[Seeck]] appended to his edition of the [[Notitia Dignitatum]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://archive.org/details/CalendarOfPhilocalusAndPolemiusSilviusFromIla| title = ''Laterculus Polemii Silvii''}}</ref> The list names six provinces in Roman Britannia: the sixth is the dubious "Orcades provincia", the possible existence of which recent researches re-evaluate.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/33336307 |title=Orcades/Orkney: the 6th roman province in Britannia |access-date=18 November 2019 |archive-date=21 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021232408/https://www.academia.edu/33336307/Orkney_the_6th_province_of_Britannia_New_evidences_from_Mine_Howe |url-status=live |last1=Montesanti |first1=Antonio }}</ref>

By the late Iron Age, Orkney was part of the [[Picts|Pictish]] kingdom, and although the [[archaeological]] remains from this period are less impressive, the fertile soils and rich seas of Orkney probably provided the Picts with a comfortable living.<ref name=Thomson4/>{{#tag:ref|They were certainly politically organised. Ritchie notes the presence of an Orcadian ruler at the court of a Pictish high king at [[Inverness]] in 565 AD.<ref>Ritchie, Anna "The Picts" in Omand (2003) p. 39</ref>|group="Notes"}} The [[Dál Riata|Dalriadic]] [[Gaels]] began to influence the islands towards the close of the Pictish era, perhaps principally through the role of [[Celtic Christianity|Celtic]] [[Missionary|missionaries]], as evidenced by several islands bearing the epithet "Papa" in commemoration of these preachers.<ref>Ritchie, Anna "The Picts" in Omand (2003) pp. 42–46.</ref> Before the Gaelic presence could establish itself the Picts were gradually dispossessed by the [[North Germanic peoples]] from the late 8th century onwards. The nature of this transition is controversial, and theories range from peaceful integration to [[enslavement]] and [[genocide]].<ref>Thompson (2008) pp. 43–50.</ref> It has been suggested that an assault by forces from [[Fortriu]] in 681 in which Orkney was "annihilated" may have led to a weakening of the local power base and helped the Norse come to prominence.<ref>Fraser (2009) p. 345</ref>