Quanterness

The Rev George Barry excavated the burial monument sometime around 1796 by entering through the roof of the monument. The mound at that time had the shape of a truncated cone, with a height of 4.27 m. The tomb consisted of a main chamber and several smaller chambers. There was an attempt to dig through the rubble filled long entrance passage, but that was discontinued after 4.27 m. The floor of the main chamber was covered with a layer of human, animal and bird skeletal remains mixed with soil and rocks. Near the opening of the entrance passage, and built into the mound, a circular structure was uncovered that was later determined to be an Iron Age roundhouse. The roundhouse dates to…

The cairn is now a large grass-covered mound, 30 m in diameter and 3.2 m in height. The mound covers a Neolithic burial monument and the remains of an Iron Age roundhouse. A long entrance passage led from the east end of the cairn into a long chamber, 6.5m by 1.9 m and 3.5 m high. The primary chamber, rectangular in shape, opened into two cells on each side of the chamber and one on each end. The cairn is a Maeshowe type of chambered cairn. Radiocarbon dating has placed its construction to around 3400 BC. An interesting feature of this tomb is a small window-sized opening into one of the cells from the main chamber. The opening may have been important part of ceremonial functions conducted…