I of course agree with my colleagues that the historical significance of these pieces of art cannot be ignored. To destroy them entirely would be a crime against scholarship we would be forced to resist most strenuously.

I suggest that we put the matter to the people of Kirkwall. It is, after all, their heritage we are discussing. Why do we not support both the city and our cause by commissioning local artists to design the new monument? We could give them a theme and put out a call for proposals, then choose from the most suitable.