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Maeshowe
 Maeshowe, or Orkahaugr in the Norse sagas, is one of the
finest of all chambered cairns, of which there are many in
Orkney. These tombs were built by Neolithic people from around
3200BC and were often used over a long period. Maeshowe dates
from around 2750BC and is the largest and most splendid of
its type to Orkney.
The stonework is engineered with great skill, with massive
stone slabs which have been expertly cut and positioned.
Also the mound has been carefully situated and the entrance
passage aligned such that the setting sun illuminates the
chamber for several weeks before and after the winter solstice.
 Very few artefacts were found when the mound was cleared
out in 1862, but the discovery of a large number of 12th
century Norse runic inscriptions and other carvings somewhat
mitigated this. These runes were carved about 1153 by Norsemen
returning from the crusades and are of the form “Ingibiorg,
the fair widow...” or “Thorfinn carved these
runes”.
The chamber measures 4.5m square, similar to the smaller
houses at Skara Brae, while the passage is 14.5m long and
1.4m high, and lined with very large stone slabs. The three
chambers are each roofed with a single slab. The mound is
surrounded by a ditch also dating from about 2750BC, but
the bank seems to be more recent.
There are several other Maeshowe-Type chambered cairns to
visit in Orkney including those at Cuween Hill near Finstown,
on Wideford Hill near Kirkwall, and at Quoyness in Sanday.
The other type is referred to as the Orkney-Cromarty group,
which have upright “stalls”, shelves at one or
both ends and corbelled roofs. They may also have cells leading
off the main chamber at floor level. Examples include Unstan
in Stenness, the Tomb of the Eagles on South Ronaldsay as
well as several on Rousay.
 Excavation of a few of these cairns has yielded the remains
of large numbers of people, and provided much information
on lifestyle, life expectancy and diseases suffered as well
as artefacts such as pottery and tools. Two types of pottery
have been found - “Grooved Ware” and “Unstan
Ware”.
Some of the tombs seem to have been associated with a particular
animal, such as Sea Eagles at the eponomous Tomb of the Eagles,
and dogs at Cuween. The Neolithic people went to great lengths
to provide “houses for the dead” and clearly
their ancestors were very important to them. The cairns may
well have been used for rituals as well as burial.
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