Orkney Smr Note
Event ID 619970
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Orkney Smr Note
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/619970
Maes Howe chambered cairn is the finest megalithic tomb in the British Isles and dates from Neolithic times, about 2000 BC.The turf-covered mound is about 24ft high and 115ft in diameter. It is set on a platform, which extends 50 to 70ft from it's base, encircled by a broad ditch. The ditch and mound were examined by Childe in two cuttings on the SE and NE sides. The ditch is slightly oval in plan, flat bottomed, cut down to rock; it's width varies from 60ft on the SW side, and it's depth is 3 to 6ft. (short description of Farrer's excavation, parallels, description and translation of runes, plan, two coloured illustrations of general view pl xvi, interior pl xvii in
[R2]).
The chamber and passage were excavated by Farrer in 1861. The entrance to the passage is on the SW side. The outer few feet of the passage as it now exists have been reconstructed, but from the door-checks inwards the work is certainly original. Farrer found the portion of the passage outside the door-checks in a ruinous
condition but traced it to the edge of the mound. This part was about 22ft 6in long, 2ft 4in wide and about the same height, but had no lintels except at the very end. The passage leads into a high chamber 15ft square. The walls rise vertically for 4ft 6in after which they begin to converge very gently. From here to a
height of about 8ft 6in the slightly oblique natural fracture of the stone has been used so as to give a smooth face to the wall with an overhang of 11in; above this the over sailing is more pronounced and the courses project as 'steps' to form a square corbelled vault. The walls survive to a height of 12ft 6in, but the original roofing, probably 15ft high at the apex, had already gone at the time of excavation in 1861, and the gap is now spanned by a modern stone and concrete dome. Farrer found the chamber full of stony debris. (description of excavation, plans, section, drawings of runes. Reading of runes by Profs. Stephens, Munch and Rafn. in [R1]).
In each of the three walls of the chamber not occupied by the passage entrance are the entances to small compartments or cells. The openings are 2ft 8in to 2ft 10in above the ground and measure 2ft to 2ft 6in wide by 2ft 6in to 2ft 10in high. The W cell measures 5ft 7in by 4ft 9in, the N cell 5ft 10in by 4ft 7.5in, the E cell 6ft 10in by 4ft 7in, and are all 3ft 6in high. The roofing in each case is by a single slab. On the floor of the chamber outside the entrances to the cells lie 3 large blocks of stone which roughly correspond in size to the openings, and were presumably used for blocking them. They were found on the floor at the time of the first excavations.
[R1], [R2], [R3]
On various stones of the chamber, mainly near the entrances to the cells, but also running along the narrow edges of some corbel-stones, are 24 runic inscriptions, and some miscellaneous scratchings. There are also, on one of the buttress-stones, three small engravings, of a dragon, a walrus and a serpent knot. Parties of Vikings entered the chamber through the roof on several occasions in the twelfth century, leaving a series of 24 runic inscriptons on the walls. Three of these inscriptions refer to treasure;
'It is true what I say, that treasure was carried off before those Crusaders broke into the howe';
'Away to the NW is a great treasure hidden. A long time ago was a great treasure hidden here.'
'Lucky will be he who can find the great fortune. Hakon single-handed bore treasure from this howe.' [R4]
Information from Orkney SMR [n.d.]