Quoyness Chambered Cairn Sanday
Quoyness Cairn
Neolithic (c.2900 BCE)·Maes Howe tradition·🇬🇧 Orkney, Sanday, United Kingdom
About
About Quoyness Chambered Cairn Sanday
Finest Maes Howe-type cairn on Sanday, excavated 1867, with six side chambers off central cell and cross-shaped plan, near beach dunes. Recorded context — Period: Neolithic (c.2900 BCE); Culture: Maes Howe tradition; Field status: excavated; Materials: sandstone, flagstone; Condition: preserved.
Why it mattersKey Maes Howe tradition megalithic with stratified sequence and regional typology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Construction labor organization
- 02Astronomical alignment
Theories
- 01Elite residence
- 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. 2900 BCE
- Period
- Neolithic (c.2900 BCE)
- Culture
- Maes Howe tradition
- Purpose
- Maes Howe-type chambered cairn — high-status burial
- Rediscovered
- Modern excavation 1883
- Excavation
- Excavated
1990 excavation
Modern rediscovery and scientific excavation of Quoyness Chambered Cairn Sanday
c. 2900 BCE
Initial construction / first occupation at Quoyness Chambered Cairn Sanday
c. 800 CE major extension
Major expansion / refurbishment at Quoyness Chambered Cairn Sanday
On the ground
Structures & features
59.2830° N · 2.5830° W · 8 m · 3 mapped features
- Quoyness Chambered Cairn Sanday — Principal Standing Stonestanding stonestanding stone at Quoyness Chambered Cairn Sanday — hydraulic feature59.2811° N · 2.5823° W
- Quoyness Chambered Cairn Sanday — Northern Chamberchamberchamber at Quoyness Chambered Cairn Sanday — subsidiary complex59.2836° N · 2.5815° W
- Quoyness Chambered Cairn Sanday — Southern Cairncairncairn at Quoyness Chambered Cairn Sanday — subsidiary complex59.2822° N · 2.5840° W
Gallery