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. [1] The stone is a glacial erratic located in desolate peatland. [2] The site is managed by Historic Environment Scotland. [3]
The attribution as a tomb was originally based on its resemblance to recognized tombs in southern Europe. [4] The Dwarfie Stane is the only chambered tomb in Orkney that is cut from stone rather than built from stones [5] and may be the only example of a Neolithic rock-cut tomb in Britain. [6] However, despite its unique construction, its plan is consistent with the so-called Orkney-Cromarty class of chambered tomb found throughout Orkney. [7] [8] Some authors have referred to this type of tomb as Bookan-class, after a chambered cairn in Mainland, [9] although there is some disagreement as to the relationship between the two tomb types.
A stone slab originally blocked the entrance to the tomb on its west side, but now lies on the ground in front of it. [10] It is unique in northern Europe, bearing similarity to Neolithic or Bronze Age tombs around the Mediterranean. R. Castleden refers to the Dwarfie Stane as representing "the imported idea of the rock-cut tomb" that was "tried once and found to be unsatisfactory", [11] perhaps due to the hardness,[ citation needed ] as it has been described as being built from "extremely compact" Old Red Sandstone by folklorist Hugh Miller who was also a stonemason by trade. [12] There is no direct evidence, however, of any link to the builders of the Mediterranean rock-cut tombs.
The stone is 8.6 metres (28 ft) long, by 4 metres (13 ft) wide and up to 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) high. [13] The entrance is a 1 metre (3.3 ft) square cut out of the west side of the rock. Inside the tomb is a passage 2.2 metres (7.2 ft) long and two side cells measuring 1.7 metres (5.6 ft) by 1 metre (3.3 ft). Both the passage and the side cells are 1 metre (3.3 ft) high. [14] Right, southern cell has a "pillow" of uncut rock at its inner end. [15]
The tomb has been plundered by making an opening through the roof of the chamber. The time of this event is not known, but the hole in the roof had been noted by the 16th century. The hole was repaired with concrete in the 1950s or 1960s. [2]
The name is derived from local legend that a dwarf named Trollid lived there, although, ironically, the tomb has also been claimed as the work of giants. [16] Its existence was popularised in Walter Scott's novel The Pirate published in 1821. [6]
There is a variety of 18th- and 19th-century graffiti on the rock-cut tomb. One is an inscription in Persian calligraphy that states "I have sat two nights and so learnt patience" left by Captain William Mounsey, who camped here in 1850. [6] [17] Above the Persian is Mounsey's name written backwards in Latin.
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.
Hoy is an island in Orkney, Scotland, measuring 143 square kilometres (55 sq mi) – the second largest in the archipelago, after Mainland. A natural causeway, the Ayre, links the island to the smaller South Walls; the two islands are treated as one entity by the UK census. Hoy lies within the parish of Stromness.
Skara Brae is a stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. It consisted of ten clustered houses, made of flagstones, in earthen dams that provided support for the walls; the houses included stone hearths, beds, and cupboards. A primitive sewer system, with "toilets" and drains in each house, included water used to flush waste into a drain and out to the ocean.
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.
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 Tomb of the Eagles, or Isbister Chambered Cairn, is a Neolithic chambered tomb located on a cliff edge at Isbister on South Ronaldsay in Orkney, Scotland. The site was discovered by Ronald Simison, a farmer, when digging flagstones in 1958; he conducted a limited excavation and removed some bones and skulls at that time but filled in the site with dirt. A more extensive excavation was started in 1976, and "an enormous amount of material was removed", according to a report published in 2002.
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 is 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.
Liddle Burnt Mound is a Bronze Age site on the island of South Ronaldsay, Orkney. The site consists of the remains of a building and a mound that surrounds it on three sides. The purpose of the site is controversial, but most investigators believe burnt mounds hosted a "domestic function", perhaps related to cooking.
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.
William Henry Mounsey was a British army officer and antiquarian with an interest in Persia and Jewish culture. He visited Egypt, the Middle East and other regions.
Benie Hoose, also Bunyie Hoose, is a Neolithic site in the parish of Nesting, northeastern Whalsay, in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. It is located approximately 100 yards (91 m) to the northwest of the Standing Stones of Yoxie, and about 140 metres (460 ft) southeast of the Pettigarths Field Cairns. Benie' is believed to be a local term for 'Bone House' or graveyard or a transliteration of the Old Norse 'Boenhus', which means 'a house of prayer' or chapel. Based on architectural details and its location with respect to Yoxie, a nearby site, it is conjectured that the Benie Hoose was the residence of the priests who were associated with performing worship at the temple at Yoxie. Benie Hoose and Yoxie demonstrate characteristics of 'paired houses'. OS (NKB) visited the site on 30 May 1968. The one-room site measures 24.4 by 12.8 metres, and features a horned forecourt.
The Standing Stones of Yoxie is a Neolithic site in the parish of Nesting on the northeastern coast of Whalsay, in the Shetland islands of Scotland. It is located approximately 100 yards (91 m) to the southeast of Benie Hoose, not far from the steep cliffs of Yoxie Geo. The site is also known as "Yoxie Biggins". The structure is the remains of a building in a neolithic settlement called Pettigarths Field, about 4,000 years old, which also includes a megalithic tomb and Benie Hoose. The site has been compared to that of Hal Tarxien.
The Pettigarths Field Cairns is a Neolithic site in the parish of Nesting, northeastern Whalsay, in the Shetland islands of Scotland. It is located approximately 140 metres (460 ft) to the northwest of Benie Hoose. The site contains upright stones as well as masonry. The south cairn is roughly 6 metres (20 ft) square, with an eastern entrance passage and circular chamber about 2 metres across. 4 metres (13 ft) to the north is a round cairn, 4.5 metres (15 ft) in diameter, with a rectangular cist. The two cairns are located on a rise, about 140 metres (460 ft) northwest of Benie Hoose.
Prehistoric art in Scotland is visual art created or found within the modern borders of Scotland, before the departure of the Romans from southern and central Britain in the early fifth century CE, which is usually seen as the beginning of the early historic or Medieval era. There is no clear definition of prehistoric art among scholars and objects that may involve creativity often lack a context that would allow them to be understood.
The Grey Cairns of Camster are two large Neolithic chambered cairns located about 8+1⁄2 miles south of Watten and 5 miles (8 km) north of Lybster in Caithness, in the Highland region of Scotland. They are among the oldest structures in Scotland, dating to about 5,000 years ago. The cairns demonstrate the complexity of Neolithic architecture, with central burial chambers accessed through narrow passages from the outside. They were excavated and restored by Historic Environment Scotland in the late 20th century and are open to the public.
Hoy and West Mainland is a national scenic area (NSA) covering parts of the islands of Hoy and Mainland in the Orkney Islands of Scotland, as well as parts of the surrounding sea. It is one of 40 such areas in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection by restricting certain forms of development. The Hoy and West Mainland NSA covers 24,407 ha in total, consisting of 16,479 ha of land with a further 7928 ha being marine.
Punds Water is a freshwater loch near Mangaster in Northmavine, Shetland. It also gives its name to a nearby Neolithic heel-shaped cairn.