Orphir Round Church

The remains of the Orphir Round Church (or Round Kirk), dedicated to Saint Nicholas, are located in Orphir Parish on the Mainland of the Orkney Islands of Scotland. It is thought to have been built by Earl Hakon as penance for murduring Saint Magnus in the late 11th or early 12th century. It is the oldest surviving round church in Scotland.[1]

The building's design was inspired by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It consisted of an apse on the eastern side of its six-meter-wide circular nave. In 1757, the church was demolished to build a new church which no longer exists. The demolition left only the apse and part of the nave. When the round church was demolished, a rune stone was found with the inscription: "This is a bad church".

Another rune stone was discovered on nearby farmland in 2013, with a Latin inscription.[2] The inscription consists of a phrase from the Lord's Prayer.

References

  1. ↑ Ancient Scotland - Orphir Round Church. Accessed 2 January 2016
  2. ↑ "Viking runestone found on medieval scholar’s farmland", Orkney Archaeology News, 10 October 2015. Accessed 2 January 2016
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