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. Recorded context — Period: Neolithic (c.3250 BCE); Culture: Orcadian Grooved Ware; Field status: excavated; Materials: flagstone; Condition: preserved.
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 Stonestanding stonestanding stone at Maes Howe Annex — Quanterness Chambered Cairn — subsidiary complex59.0123° N · 2.9905° W
- Maes Howe Annex — Quanterness Chambered Cairn — Northern Chamberchamberchamber at Maes Howe Annex — Quanterness Chambered Cairn — primary structure59.0144° N · 2.9891° W
- Maes Howe Annex — Quanterness Chambered Cairn — Cairn Annex 3cairncairn at Maes Howe Annex — Quanterness Chambered Cairn — outlier feature59.0135° N · 2.9881° W