A chambered cairn is a burial monument, usually constructed during the Neolithic, consisting of a sizeable chamber around and over which a cairn of stones was constructed. Some chambered cairns are also passage-graves. They are found throughout Britain and Ireland, with the largest number in Scotland.
Maeshowe is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave situated on Mainland Orkney, Scotland. It was probably built around 2800 BC. In the archaeology of Scotland, it gives its name to the Maeshowe type of chambered cairn, which is limited to Orkney.
The Ring of Brodgar is a Neolithic henge and stone circle about 6 miles north-east of Stromness on Mainland, the largest island in Orkney, Scotland. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Heart of Neolithic Orkney.
Eday is one of the islands of Orkney, which are located to the north of the Scottish mainland. One of the North Isles, Eday is about 24 kilometres from the Orkney Mainland. With an area of 27 km2 (10 sq mi), it is the ninth-largest island of the archipelago. The bedrock of the island is Old Red Sandstone, which is exposed along the sea-cliffs.
Unstan ware is the name used by archaeologists for a type of finely made and decorated Neolithic pottery from the 4th and 3rd millennia BC. Typical are elegant and distinctive shallow bowls with a band of grooved patterning below the rim, a type of decoration which was created using a technique known as "stab-and-drag". A second version consists of undecorated, round-bottomed bowls. Some of the bowls had bits of volcanic rock included in the clay to make them stronger. Bone tools were used to burnish the surfaces to make them shiny and impermeable.
The Standing Stones of Stenness is a Neolithic monument five miles northeast of Stromness on the mainland of Orkney, Scotland. This may be the oldest henge site in the British Isles. Various traditions associated with the stones survived into the modern era and they form part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site. They are looked after by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.
The Dwarfie Stane is a megalithic chambered tomb carved out of a titanic block of Devonian Old Red Sandstone located in a steep-sided glaciated valley between the settlements of Quoys and Rackwick on Hoy, an island in Orkney, Scotland. The stone is a glacial erratic located in desolate peatland. The site is managed by Historic Environment Scotland.
Prehistoric Orkney refers only to the prehistory of the Orkney archipelago of Scotland that begins with human occupation. Although some records referring to Orkney survive that were written during the Roman invasions of Scotland, “prehistory” in northern Scotland is defined as lasting until the start of Scotland's Early Historic Period.
Midhowe Chambered Cairn is a large Neolithic chambered cairn located on the south shore of the island of Rousay, Orkney, Scotland. The name "Midhowe" comes from the Iron Age broch known as Midhowe Broch, that lies just west of the tomb. The broch got its name from the fact that it's the middle of three such structures that lie grouped within 500 metres (1,600 ft) of each other and Howe from the Old Norse word haugr meaning mound or barrow. Together, the broch and chambered cairn form part of a large complex of ancient structures on the shore of Eynhallow Sound separating Rousay from Mainland, Orkney.
Unstan is a Neolithic chambered cairn located about 2 mi (3 km) north-east of Stromness on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. The tomb was built on a promontory that extends into the Loch of Stenness near the settlement of Howe. Unstan is notable as an atypical hybrid of the two main types of chambered cairn found in Orkney, and as the location of the first discovery of a type of pottery that now bears the name of the tomb. The site is in the care of Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.
Blackhammer Chambered Cairn is a Neolithic chambered cairn located on the island of Rousay, in Orkney, Scotland. The tomb, constructed around 3000 BC, is a Orkney–Cromarty chambered cairn, characterized by stalled burial compartments. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1994.
Quoyness chambered cairn is a Neolithic burial monument located on the island of Sanday in Orkney, Scotland. Similar to Maeshowe in design, the tomb was probably built around 3000 BC. The skeletal remains of several people were uncovered in the tomb during excavation in 1867. The monument was partially restored and reconstructed after a second excavation during the early 1950s, to display the different original stages of construction of the tomb. The property is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.
Rennibister Earth House is an Iron Age underground sructure known as a souterrain .It is located on the Mainland of Orkney, in Scotland. The monument was discovered in 1926 when a threshing machine caused the roof to collapse. During excavation, the skeletal remains of six adults and twelve children were uncovered. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1928.
Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn is a Neolithic chambered cairn on Mainland, the main island of Orkney, Scotland, about 6 miles west of Kirkwall. It dates to around 3,000 BCE, and is similar in design to Maeshowe, but on a smaller scale. It was constructed by Neolithic farmers as a burial place.
Huntersquoy chambered cairn is a Neolithic chambered cairn located on the island of Eday, in Orkney, Scotland. The monument dates from the 3rd millennium BC and is an Orkney–Cromarty type chambered cairn. Huntersquoy is a distinctive two-story burial monument with overlapping chambers. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1936.
Wideford Hill chambered cairn is a Neolithic chambered cairn on Mainland, Orkney in Scotland. The tomb dates to around 2000 BC, and is similar in design to the Maeshowe chambered cairn on Orkney. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1994.
Braeside chambered cairn is a Neolithic burial monument located on the island of Eday in Orkney, Scotland. It is an Orkney-Cromarty type stalled cairn, similar in construction to the Midhowe Chambered Cairn on the island of Rousay. Because of prior robbing, the Braeside cairn has been reduced to a few upright stones at the ground level, covered with turf and heather. The cairn is located on the Eday Heritage Trail.
The Stone of Setter is a Neolithic standing stone located on the island of Eday, in Orkney, Scotland. It dates to the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age, around the 2nd millennium BC. Outside of the Stones of Stenness, this monument is the tallest monolith in Orkney. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1936.
Quanterness chambered cairn is a Neolithic burial monument located on Mainland, Orkney in Scotland. An Iron Age roundhouse built into the cairn was discovered during excavation in the early 1970s. The dwelling was constructed around 700 BC. Also found during excavation, were the remains of 157 people, pottery remnants and other artefacts. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1929.
Knowe of Yarso chambered cairn is a Neolithic burial monument located on the island of Rousay in Orkney, Scotland. The site was excavated in the 1930s, and uncovered human and animal bones as well as pottery sherds, flint and bone tools, and arrowheads. The tomb, dating to the period between 3500 and 2500 BC, is a stalled chambered cairn, similar to Midhowe and Blackhammer. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1994.
