It is located around 13 miles north of Stromness and features the remains of Pictish and Norse settlements as well as a modern lighthouse.

[5] The Norse settlement has been partly removed by coastal erosion, and the cliffs are reinforced by concrete rip-rap to prevent further damage.

Notable among these are a group of moulds for fine metalworking, showing that bronze brooches and other ornaments were being manufactured on the site in the 8th century.

This early 8th-century slab shows a striking procession of three Picts dressed in long robes and bearing spears, swords and square shields.

Two simple cross-incised slabs, likely grave-markers, were also found in the graveyard, and are probably Pictish or early medieval in date (displayed on site).

[6]: 58 According to the Orkneyinga saga the main residence of the Earl of Orkney, Thorfinn the Mighty (1014–1065), was located in Birsay.

The remains of adjoining buildings round three sides of an open court suggest that it may once have been a small monastery (though there is no documentation for such a foundation).

[6]: 58  The site, and particularly the objects found there, have been central to debates about the nature of Pictish-Norse relations in Northern Scotland.