Point of Cott Chambered Cairn
Cott Long Cairn · Westray Cairn
Early Neolithic·Orkney-Cromarty Neolithic·🇬🇧 Westray, Orkney, Scotland, United Kingdom
About
About Point of Cott Chambered Cairn
Orkney-Cromarty long stalled cairn at Point of Cott Ness on Westray, built c.3600–3200 BCE. The coastal mound, originally c.30 m long, is eroding from its eastern side but preserves a stalled chamber under a ruined cairn 4 m above the shoreline. Excavated 1930s, it yielded fragmentary human bone and pottery. Its cliff-edge siting illustrates the vulnerability of Orkney's coastal Neolithic heritage.
Why it mattersOrkney-Cromarty long stalled cairn at Point of Cott Ness on Westray, built c.3600–3200 BCE. The coastal mound, originally c.30 m long, is eroding from its eastern side but preserves a stalled chamber under a ruined cairn
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Coastal erosion rate and rescue needs
Theories
- 01Cliff-top funerary placement
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. 3600–3200 BCE
- Period
- Early Neolithic
- Culture
- Orkney-Cromarty Neolithic
- Purpose
- Long stalled chambered cairn
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 3600–3200 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1172 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
59.3012° N · 2.9375° W · 10 m · 2 mapped features
Stalled chamber
chamberStalled chamber compartments within eroding long mound
59.3012° N · 2.9375° WEroding long mound
cairn mound30 m long mound truncated by coastal erosion on east side
59.3011° N · 2.9372° W