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| Holm
of Papa Westray is a small islet just off the east
coast of Papa Westray itself. There is little doubt
that the two islands were once joined—they
almost touch now at low tide. The cairn is at the
highest point on the holm, about 15 m.a.s.l. and
was cleared in the 1840’s. It lay open until
1930 when a concrete roof was added to protect the
interior. |
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View
of the holm from Papa Westray. The lump to the
right is the tomb. |
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The tomb is oblong, about 38 x 19½ metres
and runs roughly north-south. It survives to a height
of 3 metres and probably never stood much taller
than that. The entrance is on the east side and
runs 9.1 metres, intersecting the burial chamber
at roughly the mid point of the long axis. However,
Captain F. W. L. Thomas, the original investigator,
describes the passage as being only 5½ metres
long. It would seem that some reconstruction was
done in 1930 but on what basis is unknown. Only
the innermost part of the passage, a stretch 3.8
metres long, is roofed at a height of about 60 cm. |
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Holm
of Papa Westray (South). Plan and Section of the
Cairn |
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| The
main burial chamber is 13.5 metres long but there
are extensions at either end that bring the total
to 20.4 metres. The width varies from 1.2 to 1.4
metres. When first exposed, the walls were up to
2.7 metre high—the side walls were corbelled
from a little over halfway up to reduce the span
of the ceiling to about 80 cm. There are 12 |
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Holm
of Papa Westray (South). Interior |
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| small
entrances to side cells (including two with double
cells). These range from 1.2 to 1.6 metres wide,
0.8 to 1.1 metres deep and 1.1 to 1.7 metres high.
These were said to have been partially filled with
rubble containing animal bones, but these have long
since disappeared. No human bone nor artefacts were
found but a number of the stones in the burial chamber
were decorated with cup marks, concentric circles
and other designs. |
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Holm
of Papa Westray (South). Relief Carvings
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