Stalled Cairn
The complex, mostly referred to as the Stalled Cairn , scientifically determined as a variant of the Orkney-Cromarty type (OC) or Orkney-Cromarty-Hebridean type, is a megalithic form of the 4th and 3rd millennium BC that was primarily widespread in Scotland . BC, which belongs to the larger group of the Passage Tombs . It got the popular name Stalled Cairn from the fact that the elongated rectangular burial chamber is divided into boxes like a stall by thin plates placed on both sides.
distribution
The type is represented with around 60 plants on the Orkney and associated with Unstan Ware as ceramic . The other systems are in the Highlands , all the way down to Inverness-shire on the Scottish main island and are also common in the Hebrides .
description
The Orkney-Cromarty Group is the oldest, by far the largest and most diverse in the British Isles . It is divided into the subtypes Camster, Cromarty and Yarrows. The length of the facilities is between four and 27 m ( Knowe of Ramsay ) and the number of boxes ranges from three or four, in perhaps early examples ( Bigland Round , Stalled Cairn on Swona or Crantit Cairn ) over six ( Kierfea Hill ), seven Knowe of Yarso up to 27 (Knowe of Ramsay, sometimes including a head niche). However, the focus is on shorter systems. The systems are mostly built from exposed outcrops of flat dry masonry and covered with larger slabs. There are 15 systems on Rousay alone , where hardly any other variant ( Taversoe Tuick ) occurs.
The largest hill in width and height that covers a chamber of this type is that of Midhowe, 13 and five meters respectively. The shape of the cairn varies from round (Bigland Round, Kierfea Hill ) to elongated structures, which, especially in the Highlands, were finally provided with atria ( Camster- Long at both ends). This is probably a consequence of cultural influences from the south, which also reached the Orkney (Midhowe) group, which has 60 facilities.
The categorizations are misleading, however, because the Orkney Cairns do not necessarily fit into a category. Instead there are a number of variants or chimeras.
Timeline (BC)
- 3600 Knap of Howar built, Unstan Ware
- 3200 Stalled Cairns appear
- 3100 Knap of Howar provides most of the data and Skara Brae its oldest
- 3100 Quanterness Cairn with first grooved goods
- 3000 Stones of Stenness and Quoyness are built
- 2800 Maes Howe is built
- 2600 Skara Brae provides most of the data and the Ring of Brodgar is built
Finds
There are references to burial rites and ritual activities at a number of sites. Ash, charcoal, animal and human bones were found together with broken clay pots and stone tools. Unfortunately, the excavations of the past (19th century) have resulted in the fact that in most cases the material was either overlooked or ignored. Fire cults were apparently an important part of the rituals, as there is evidence of this in several chambers. The rituals were not limited to the interior of the facilities. At Knowe Craie on Rousay, in front of the entrance, ashes with fragments of burned bones, flint fragments and pottery shards were found in a small hollow .
literature
- Rodney Castleden: The Stonehenge people. An exploration of life in neolithic Britain 4700–2000 BC. Routledge & Paul, London 1989, ISBN 0-7102-0968-1 .