Dwarfie Stane
The approximately 5000 year old rock grave Dwarfie Stane ( German "dwarf stone" ) is located in a valley between Quoys and Rackwick on the Orkney island of Hoy in Scotland . Until 1989 it was the only rock grave in Great Britain and at the same time the northernmost in Europe.
description
The Dwarfie Stane is an approximately 8.5 m long and 2.5 m wide block of red sandstone that detached itself from the nearby rock face during the Ice Age. This is also indicated by the presence of the “Partick Stane”, a similar boulder about 200 m away, so that both stones were moved here when the glaciers retreated at the end of the last ice age .
The transverse small chamber with the short central corridor was pecked into the stone between the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age . A square opening measuring 0.9 mx 0.9 m leads into the chamber. What is remarkable is the fact that the massive stone was hollowed out with stone tools. In front of the entrance is a sandstone block, which is regarded as the locking stone of the chamber, which is said to have been unopened until the 16th century. There are no records of any archaeological excavations or finds.
Legend
According to an Orcadian fable, the Dwarfie Stane is the work of a giant and his wife. A third giant locked the "gigantic couple" in the stone. But his plans were thwarted when the imprisoned giants drove a hole in the ceiling of the chamber. The legend explains the hole in the roof of the chamber, which is now filled with concrete.
literature
- Anna Ritchie, Graham Ritchie: Scotland. Archeology and Early History (= Ancient peoples and places 99). Thames and Hudson Ltd., London 1981, ISBN 0-500-02100-7 .
- Homer Sykes: Mysterious Britain - Fact and Folklore George Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd. 1993 ISBN 0-297-83196-8 p. 140
Web links
- Dwarfie Stane (English)
Coordinates: 58 ° 53 ′ 4 " N , 3 ° 18 ′ 51.5" W.