Maeshowe guy

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The eponymous maeshowe
Sections through the plant

The megaliths of Maeshowe type emerged about 2500 BC. BC on Orkney , Scotland , when the rest of the British Isles made the transition to burial in stone boxes. Maeshowe-type systems are characterized by a long, low, lateral access that leads to a high square or rectangular chamber from which a number of secondary chambers can be reached.

There are some transition types (e.g. Bookan Cairn , Dis o´the Holm (the South Cairn ) on the Holm of Papa , Isbister Cairn , Unstan Cairn ) and therefore differences of opinion about the assignment to this type of system, which only exists on Orkney , but some Irish (e.g. Newgrange ) and one each in England ( Calderstones ) and Wales ( Barclodiad y Gawres ) have a similar shape.

distribution

Eight plants are definitely, 13 at most, counted as the Maeshowe type. In addition to Maeshowe itself, the largest megalithic complex on Orkney, and Wideford Hill , both on Mainland , each with three secondary chambers, there are Cuween Hill Cairn (Mainland) and Vinquoy on Eday (each with four secondary chambers), and Quanterness on Mainland, Quoyness and Mount Maesry on Sanday and Banks tomb on South Ronaldsay , each with six secondary chambers. Dis o´the Holm, (the southern Cairn) on the Holm of Papa even has 12 or 14 secondary chambers. Anna Ritchie counts other transition types to the maeshowe type.

The excavations at Howe Broch , near Stromness, revealed an intricate series of Iron Age settlements heralded by two phases of Neolithic activity. An earlier Stalled Cairn was built over by a maeshowe-type system, followed by poorly preserved settlements. These settlements were replaced by a wheelhouse that was built into the ruins of the chamber complex. The wheelhouse was surrounded by a contemporary fortified settlement. A later reconstruction resulted in a brochure structure . Here the sequence of stone structures of the various types on Orkney is shown in a linear sequence.

Timeline (BC)

literature

  • Rodney Castleden: The Stonehenge People. An exploration of life in Neolithic Britain, 4700-2000 BC. Routledge, London et al. 1987, ISBN 0-415-04065-5 .

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