Maes Howe, inner end of entrance passage.
SC 342871
Description Maes Howe, inner end of entrance passage.
Date c. 1929
Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu
Catalogue Number SC 342871
Category On-line Digital Images
Copy of O 347
Scope and Content Chambered cairn known as Maes Howe, Orkney Maes Howe is one of the most impressive chambered cairns in Scotland and indeed Europe. It clearly shows the skills of the Neolithic stone masons. The cairn was opened in 1861, but was found to be empty for it had been entered by Norsemen. The chamber entrance faces the south west, where the sun sets near the shortest day of the year. A horizontal slit allows the setting sun to shine through and this creates a bar of light on the back wall. This may have had some religious significance. The site was entered by James Farrer in 1861, but he only found some fragments of human skull. However, others had been there before him and the site was known as Orkhaugr in the Orkneyinga Saga. The site was reused for a 9th century Viking burial. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.
External Reference Inv. fig. 385
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