Maes Howe Annex — Quanterness Chambered Cairn
Quanterness Cairn
Neolithic (c.3250 BCE)·Orcadian Grooved Ware·🇬🇧 Orkney, Mainland, Wideford, United Kingdom
About
About Maes Howe Annex — Quanterness Chambered Cairn
Mainland Orkney cairn excavated by Renfrew 1972–74, yielding 157 adults and children, dated to Early Neolithic with Grooved Ware sherds.
Why it mattersKey Orcadian Grooved Ware megalithic with stratified sequence and regional typology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Construction labor organization
- 02Astronomical alignment
Theories
- 01Seasonal gathering
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. 3250 BCE
- Period
- Neolithic (c.3250 BCE)
- Culture
- Orcadian Grooved Ware
- Purpose
- Maes Howe-type chambered cairn — communal tomb 6 m chamber with side cells yielding 157 individuals
- Rediscovered
- Modern excavation 1960
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 3250 BCE
Initial construction / first occupation at Maes Howe Annex — Quanterness Chambered Cairn
c. 200 CE major extension
Major expansion / refurbishment at Maes Howe Annex — Quanterness Chambered Cairn
On the ground
Structures & features
59.0140° N · 2.9900° W · 44 m · 3 mapped features
Maes Howe Annex — Quanterness Chambered Cairn — Principal Standing Stone
standing stonestanding stone at Maes Howe Annex — Quanterness Chambered Cairn — subsidiary complex
59.0123° N · 2.9905° WMaes Howe Annex — Quanterness Chambered Cairn — Northern Chamber
chamberchamber at Maes Howe Annex — Quanterness Chambered Cairn — primary structure
59.0144° N · 2.9891° WMaes Howe Annex — Quanterness Chambered Cairn — Cairn Annex 3
cairncairn at Maes Howe Annex — Quanterness Chambered Cairn — outlier feature
59.0135° N · 2.9881° W