Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn
Cuween Hill cairn
Late Neolithic·Grooved Ware Neolithic (Maeshowe group)·🇬🇧 Orkney, Mainland, Scotland, United Kingdom
About
About Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn
Classic Maeshowe-type chambered cairn high on Cuween Hill above Bay of Firth, reached by steep climb. Circular cairn ~15 m diameter with 5 m low passage (40 cm height requiring crawl) to 5 m square main chamber with four side cells. Excavated 1901 by Calder, found 8 human skulls, dog skulls and ox bones on floor — evidence for ritual feasting/ dog association. Built c.3000 BCE.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Dog skull association — totemic or companion burials?
Theories
- 01High place for excarnation and sky burial rites
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 3000 BCE
- Period
- Late Neolithic
- Culture
- Grooved Ware Neolithic (Maeshowe group)
- Purpose
- Chambered tomb with ritual animal deposits
- Abandoned
- Late Neolithic
- Rediscovered
- Excavated 1901 (Charles Calder)
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 3000 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1069 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
58.9971° N · 3.1078° W · 80 m · 1 mapped feature
Main chamber with side cells
chamber5 m square corbelled chamber with four lintelled cells
58.9971° N · 3.1078° W
Gallery