The
Orkney-Cromarty Group
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The
most common type of tomb found in
the islands is known as the ‘Stalled
Cairn,’ of which 59 have been
identified. They get their name from
the fact that the tomb chamber is
divided by thin, upright slabs of
stone into a series of compartments
that look very much stalls in a stable
or byre. Examples can be found throughout
the islands but are particularly concentrated
on Rousay, Westray and Eday. Gordon
Childe, who excavated in Orkney during
the 1930’s and 40’s, noticed
that their distribution was similar
to that of 19th century farm houses
and that is certainly the case on
Rousay where each is prominently located
in a discrete patch of arable farmland
capable of supporting an extended
family group of perhaps a couple of
dozen people.
The
tombs closely resemble those found
in north-eastern Scotland (such as
Cairn o' Gets, right) and
were probably built by immigrants
from that region or their descendants.
Typically a stone cairn covered a
round or oblong burial chamber with
a series of stalls, an entrance passage
at one end and a large slab at the
other, but there were many variations.
Plans of a number of them are available
by clicking the link (right).
The
narrow entrance passage were constructed
of drystone slabs and had low ceilings
made up of a |
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succession of rather large lintels—you
have to crawl in on your hands and knees.
It makes an appropriate transition from this
world to the next. The shortest is a little
over 1 metre long; the longest, at Unstan,
is about 6.5 metres. In most cases it ran
in from the south-eastern quadrant, the direction
of the winter sunrise. At the end, a pair
of portal stones mark the entry to the chamber.
The passage at Braeside, on the island of
Eday, is slightly out of alignment with the
axis of the chamber and is oriented directly
towards the large standing stone known as
the Setter Stone.
The
burial chamber itself was fairly narrow
(about 1½ to 2 metres wide) with
drystone walls, interrupted by the upright
partition slabs used to make the stalls.
These were anything from a metre to
2½ metres across and up to 50
cm. deep. Many were fitted with stone
benches about 50 cm. high and those
that weren’t probably had wooden
versions. The benches were usually supported
by slabs set on edge but several were
set on solid platforms or were boxed
in at the front by a further slab. A
narrow walkway ran the length of the
room to a single
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Knowe
of Yarso (Interior),
Rousay |
compartment at the end of the
chamber. This room was clearly
the most important space in
the tomb—there were often
shelves set into the side walls
and the rear wall was made up
of a stone slab that tilted
slightly backwards. The shelves
were supported by stones jutting
out of the side walls (scarcements)
so that they were above the
level of the back slab, perhaps
a metre or so off the floor.
It was often separated from
the rest of the burial chamber
by a low stone sill. Ceilings
have only survived at a few
sites but it is assumed that
it was at least two metres above
the floor because the walls
extend that high and even higher.
This means that after crawling
down the entrance passage you
were able to stand upright in
the burial chamber.
The
most numerous type of tomb,
about a third of the total,
has three compartments and ranges
from about 3 to 6 metres in
length. Kierfea Hill on Rousay
is a good |
example. But it was not uncommon to
increase the length of the chamber by
adding more compartments. The longest
is Knowe of Ramsay, which measures nearly
27 metres and has fourteen of them.
In three cases—Holm of Papa Westray
North, Unstan and Isbister—there
are small cells opening off the main
chamber but there is no apparent pattern
to their occurrence. In the first one,
an empty cell is located at the end
of the main chamber and was part of
an earlier cairn to which the stalls
was later added. Unstan and Isbister
are both quite unusual—not only
did they have cells as part of the original
design but the entrance passage runs
into the side of the chamber. In adddition,
a few tombs belong to what Davidson
and Henshall call the “Bookan-type”
class, where the compartments are arranged
around a central space. There is even
the odd two-storeyed example, with markedly
different designs above and below. |
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Blackhammer
(Rousay). Exterior wall face
The chamber was covered by a cairn of stone
rubble, held in place by one or more revetments
of well-dressed masonry. The outer revetment
was evidently meant to be seen since at
some tombs the stonework was laid in slanting
courses and even herringbone patterns—very
reminiscent of the designs on the rims of
Unstan bowls. These walls have survived
to heights of more than 2 metres; so it
would appear that the sides of the cairn
were originally vertical and their present
sloping appearance is the result of collapse
and the robbing of building material. In
several examples, the lowest course projected
somewhat and served as a plinth for the
superstructure. The shape of the cairn was
generally circular or oblong, depending
on the length of the burial chamber. A few
are quite long and have projecting hornworks
at one end—a common mainland variant
and generally thought to have been added
after the tombs had fallen out of use.
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Camster
Long Cairn (Caithness). Hornworks—
note also the plinth & revetment
The same techniques and essentially the
same plan were used in the construction
of the houses at Knap
of Howar, which were oblong
with an entrance at one end and partitioned
by slabs that project from the walls. The
innermost room of House 2 has shelves and
cupboards, the same as many of the tombs.
It is not hard to come to the conclusion
that these tombs are essentially ‘Houses
of the Dead.’
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