Midhowe Chambered Cairn Rousay — Great Cairn
Midhowe Cairn
Neolithic (c.3500–2500 BCE)·Orcadian Neolithic·🇬🇧 Orkney, Rousay, near Midhowe Broch, United Kingdom
About
About Midhowe Chambered Cairn Rousay — Great Cairn
Spectacular Rousay cairn excavated 1932–34, largest in Orkney, with 25 individuals and an adjacent Iron Age broch landscape visible across Eynhallow Sound.
Why it mattersKey Orcadian Neolithic megalithic with stratified sequence and regional typology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Function of enclosure
- 02Chronology and phasing
Theories
- 01Defensive stronghold
- 02Observatory
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. 3500 BCE
- Period
- Neolithic (c.3500–2500 BCE)
- Culture
- Orcadian Neolithic
- Purpose
- Orkney's longest chambered cairn (23 m) — communal tomb and territorial marker
- Rediscovered
- Modern excavation 1869
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 1200 BCE major extension
Major expansion / refurbishment at Midhowe Chambered Cairn Rousay — Great Cairn
1950 excavation
Modern rediscovery and scientific excavation of Midhowe Chambered Cairn Rousay — Great Cairn
On the ground
Structures & features
59.1580° N · 3.0970° W · 18 m · 3 mapped features
Midhowe Chambered Cairn Rousay — Great Cairn — Principal Standing Stone
standing stonestanding stone at Midhowe Chambered Cairn Rousay — Great Cairn — primary structure
59.1594° N · 3.0989° WMidhowe Chambered Cairn Rousay — Great Cairn — Chamber Annex 2
chamberchamber at Midhowe Chambered Cairn Rousay — Great Cairn — primary structure
59.1579° N · 3.0975° WMidhowe Chambered Cairn Rousay — Great Cairn — Southern Cairn
cairncairn at Midhowe Chambered Cairn Rousay — Great Cairn — hydraulic feature
59.1582° N · 3.0953° W