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. Recorded context — Period: Neolithic (c.3500–2500 BCE); Culture: Orcadian Neolithic; Field status: excavated; Materials: flagstone, clay; Condition: preserved — roofed by Historic Scotland.
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 Stonestanding stonestanding stone at Midhowe Chambered Cairn Rousay — Great Cairn — primary structure59.1594° N · 3.0989° W
- Midhowe Chambered Cairn Rousay — Great Cairn — Chamber Annex 2chamberchamber at Midhowe Chambered Cairn Rousay — Great Cairn — primary structure59.1579° N · 3.0975° W
- Midhowe Chambered Cairn Rousay — Great Cairn — Southern Cairncairncairn at Midhowe Chambered Cairn Rousay — Great Cairn — hydraulic feature59.1582° N · 3.0953° W
Gallery