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Publication Account
Date 1996
Event ID 1016384
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016384
Before it was excavated in the 1980s, this was an eroding long cairn some 1.5m high, which had once been more than 30m long. Fears that coastal erosion would destroy it completely led to its excavation, but the basal course of the structure uncovered is still visible, if overgrown . This must have been a magnificent sight when it was in use, for the cairn curved outwards on either side of the entrance to form long horns, thus creating a spacious forecourt in front of the tomb facade. The entrance passage was still roofed with slabs set on edge, but the long stalled chamber was roofless. It was divided into four compartments, of which the innermost was furnished by a double box formed of low upright slabs. The partial remains of twelve people were recovered, both adults and children, along with pottery and animal bones.
There are small displays of artefacts in site museums at Skara Brae (no. 61) and Isbister (no. 85), and the broch of Gurness has a more extensive visitor centre (no. 53). A general display on Orcadian prehistory may be seen at Tormiston Mill (no. 26).
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Orkney’, (1996).
