20 October - part 2: Viking Vandals in 'The heart of Neolithic Orkney'

From Skaill House we drove to Maes Howe for a guided tour of the finest chambered tomb in north-west Europe. Externally the tomb looks like a large grassy mound. Access to the tomb is through a 10 metres long stone-built chamber, before you reach the small, central chamber which is only 4.7 metres across.  The tunnel is so low that even our boys had to walk stoopingly to get through it.

The burial tomb of Maes Howe

The tomb is more than 5000 years old and is built from of massive slabs of sandstone, each weighing several tons. Off the central chamber are three side cells, where the floors, back walls and ceiling all are single stone slabs.

Even more impressive is the fact that the 10 metres long access tunnel was made from four massive pieces of stone - one for the floor, one for the ceiling and one for either of the walls. I was amazed at how they were able to quarry and build a construction like this with the simple tools they had available to them at that time.

Our guide told us that the gently sloping passage to Maes Howe is carefully aligned so that at sunset during the three weeks before and after solstice, the shortest day of the year (21 December), the light of the setting sun shines straight down the passage and illuminates the back of the central chamber. This event is also recorded by a webcam installed in the central chamber during this time period, making it possible for us to watch it minute by minute. Those who are not very patient (like me), can watch timelapse videos of the event instead. 

Viking vandals

During the 1861 excavation, Maes Howe’s entrance passage was inaccessible, so an access shaft was driven down through the top of the mound. Once inside, however, the archaeologists discovered that they were not the first to break into the tomb. The walls of the Stone Age chamber were covered in with runic graffiti.

According to the Orkneyinga Saga, a group of viking warriors had sought shelter from a terrible snowstorm in the winter of 1153. Leading the men was Earl Harald, who was making his way from Stromness to the parish of Firth.

Another episode in the tomb is thought to have involved Earl Rognvald and his men heading to the Holy Land on a crusade. The Crusaders also left their mark on the walls, claiming that they were the first to have broken into the chamber.

The 30 runic inscriptions found in Maes Howe, make it one of the largest collection of runic inscription that survive outside Scandinavia. It also serves as a potent reminder that Orkney was under Norwegian rule until 1468.

A peek inside the tomb

Visitors are not allowed to take photographs inside the tomb, so I have embedded an interesting little video I found on YouTube instead.

 

The Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar

After visiting Maes Howe, we went to see the Stones of Stenness and then the Ring of Brodgar.

The Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar are two of Britain’s best-preserved prehistoric monuments. They were built between 5,400 and 4,500 years ago. Their function is not known, but it is assumed that they were involved in activities and ceremonies celebrating the relationship between living and past communities.

The Stones of Stenness was an elliptical ring, believed to have consisted of 12 stones, though excavations in the 1970s suggest that the ring was never "completed", with at least one and possibly two, of the 12 stones never erected. Four of the original stones remain, towering up to six metres tall.

The Ring of Brodgar was built in a true circle, almost 104 metres wide and the third largest stone circle in the British Isles. Although it is thought to have originally contained 60 stones, this figure is not based on archaeological evidence. Today, 27 stones still remain, varying from 2.1 to 4.7 metres high.