Mount Maesry
Mount Maesry (also called Mount Misery or Mount Maestry) is a megalithic complex of the Passage Tomb type in the south of the small and low tidal island of Start Island (or Start Point) at the eastern end of the Orkney island of Sanday in Scotland .
The maeshowe-type cairn, about 22.5 m in diameter and over 4.0 m high, stands on a tidal island that is easily accessible when the water level is low. It has been excavated in places, but the excavations were negligible. It is reported that it contains a large carefully built chamber that was used as a potato storage for many years before 1928. Traces of a dry stone wall about 9.0 m in diameter, similar to the inner retaining wall at nearby Quoyness Cairn, surround the summit. An opening that is now closed, but not the original entrance, can be seen near the top.
The lighthouse keepers Baikie and Skea explored the interior. The south arch was superficially excavated and, according to A. Skea, there is a now blocked lintel corridor that leads into a central chamber. According to Skea, the passage was about 1.0 m high and led to a round chamber about 8.0 m in diameter, covered with plates and about 1.5 m high. There were no traces of cells, probably because the original bottom was not reached.
On the land side, the Broch of Buryan is not far away .
literature
- Anna Ritchie: Orkney and Shetland (= Exploring Scotland's Heritage. ). Published for Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland by HMSO, Edinburgh 1985, ISBN 0-11-492458-9 .
Web links
- Entry on Mount Maesry in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database
- Aerial view
- image
Coordinates: 59 ° 16 ′ 38.8 " N , 2 ° 22 ′ 44.4" W.