Verified58.9986° N · 3.0650° W · 35 m
Maeshowe Chambered Cairn
Maes Howe
Late Neolithic·Grooved Ware Orcadian·🇬🇧 Orkney, Scotland, United Kingdom
About
About Maeshowe Chambered Cairn
Finest Orkney chambered cairn: 36 m mound, long passage, corbelled chamber. Midwinter sunset illuminates chamber. Bears 12th-century Viking runic inscriptions (>30).
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Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Midwinter sunset precision
- 02Corbelled vault engineering
Theories
- 01Winter solstice rebirth ritual
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. 2800 BCE
- Period
- Late Neolithic
- Culture
- Grooved Ware Orcadian
- Purpose
- Elite tomb, solar shrine; reused by Norse
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 2800 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1240 CE
Major expansion
Location
Where it is
58.9986° N · 3.0650° W · 35 m
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