Chambered
Cairns in Orkney
Chambered
cairns are tombs which are characteristic of Neolithic times. They
are stone-built and typically have a central chamber, one or more
cells off the main chamber and an entry passage. Orkney has a large
number of these "houses for the dead", many of which are very well
preserved. These tombs were built by the Neolithic farmers with the
oldest date being about 3200 BC, and continued in use for up to 800
years before final sealing. Many are very well preserved, and generally
the building quality is very high.
Although
there is a range of sizes and design, there are basically two types
- The Orkney-Cromarty Group (OC) and the Maeshowe
Group (MH). The former type is related to similar cairns in
Caithness, while the Maeshowe type is unique to Orkney. In many ways
these tombs are similar to the contemporary houses at Skara Brae and
Knap of Howar, so that perhaps the "houses of the dead reflect the
houses of "the living". Recent reassessment of radiocarbon dating
suggests that the two pottery styles may be successive rather than
comptemporary.
The
OC type, of which there are about sixty, is characterised by having
upright "stalls" set into the side walls, shelves at one or both ends
as well as sometimes along the sides and rounded corbelling for the
roofs. Low-roofed cells occasionally lead off the main chamber. The
pottery type found in these cairns is Unstan Ware. These are
wide, round bottomed pots, which may or may not be decorated, and
are also associated with the Knap of Howar in Papay, as well as Stonehall
in Firth.
The
MH type have rectangular chambers with high corbelled roofs and cells
which may also have high roofs, but which lack the upright stalls
of the OC type. They also tend to be built of larger stones, often
very massive and normally very well cut and fitted together. There
are only twelve examples of the unique structures. Where pottery was
present it was always Grooved Ware, which are flat bottomed
pots, and quite distinct from the Unstan type. This association is
also unique.
Unfortunately
most sites were cleared out in the past without the benefit of modern
techniques. However several cairns were excavated recently and produced
much data. The Maeshowe-type cairns at Quanterness (St Ola) and Howe
(Stromness) and the Orkney-Cromarty type cairn at Isbister (South
Ronaldsay) yielded large quantities of human and animal bones, artifacts
and other material from which much has been deduced about the lives
of the people buried there. At Pierowall (Westray) a probable Maeshowe-type
cairn was discovered during quarrying, and yielded an intricately
carved stone, now in Tankerness Museum, which has similarities to
markings at Newgrange in Ireland.
The picture
is of a hard life, with few people living longer than 30 years, and
most dying before 25. Arthritis was common in adults, while mortality
in childhood was high. Usage of the tombs lasted for several centuries,
and in the two recent excavations partial remains of large numbers
of individuals were buried, with up to 400 at each of Isbister and
Quanterness. Some cairns, such as Maeshowe, contained no bones on
excavation, whilst other earlier excavations failed to yield the detail
of the recent work. The lack of bones and other artefacts in many
instances may simply mean that the cairns were cleared out at some
unknown time in the past.
In some
cairns there appears to have been an association with animals, Sea
Eagles at Isbister, Dogs at Burray and Cuween and sheep, cattle or
deer at others. Whether these together with the many pot sherds also
found are the remains of funeral feasts or offerings to the dead is
an open question. It is interesting to note that nicknames for people
from particular parishes and islands are still in common use. Some
of these may be very ancient.
That
the Neolithic people went to such lengths in housing their dead, in
contrast to later times, suggests that ancestors were very important
to them. While much has been discovered about the material aspects
of these people's life, nothing has been revealed about the rituals
and social aspects of their life except that the very large effort
implied in the construction of these monuments suggests that the society
was well organised and had resources beyond mere subsistence farming.
CHAMBERED
CAIRNS TO VISIT IN ORKNEY
These
are only a selection of the most accessible and best-preserved cairns.
Maeshowe-type
|
Orkney-Cromarty
type
|
Eday: |
Vinquoy
Hill |
Hoy: |
Dwarfie
Stone |
Firth: |
Cuween
Hill |
Rousay: |
Blackhammar |
Papay: |
Long
Cairn |
Bigland
Round |
Sanday: |
Mount
Maesry |
Taversoe
Tuick |
Quoyness |
Midhowe |
St
Ola: |
Wideford
Hill |
Knowe
of Yarso |
Stenness: |
Maeshowe |
South
Ronaldsay: |
"Tomb
of the Eagles" |
|
|
Stenness: |
Unstan |
Maeshowe
The finest example of a chambered cairn in Orkney
Chambered Cairns
Tombs dating from the Neolithic - approx 5,000 years ago
Runes
Twelfth century Vikings left many runic inscriptions in Maeshowe
Skara Brae
Famous Neolithic village at Bay of Skaill dating from 3rd Millenium
BC
Ring of Brodgar
Orkney's dramatic and impressive henge monument
Standing Stones
Stone circle near Maeshowe
Barnhouse Settlement
Neolithic settlement near the Standing Stones of Stenness
Other Standing Stones
The Watchstone, Odinstone and Barnhouse Stone
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