Unstan Cairn
The Unstan Cairn (also Onstan ) is a hybrid form between a Passage Tomb of the Maes Howe type (MH) and a Stalled Cairn of the Orkney Cromarty type (OC). The design of the elongated central chamber is (apart from the box separation) that of a Stalled Cairns. Some features such as the lateral access , the side chamber and the round hill are unusual elements for Stalled Cairns, only Bigland Round also has a round hill.
location
The Unstan Cairn is located on the Orkney island of Mainland not far from the A965 road that runs from Stromness to Kirkwall , four kilometers from Stromness. The facility is located on a small peninsula overlooking the Loch of Stenness where the fresh water of the lake mixes with the salt water of the Bay of Ireland, Scapa Flow's northernmost bay . The peninsula is separated from the surrounding area by a low embankment of unknown date.
description
In the oval cairn, excavated in 1884, lies the 8.4 m long and up to two meters wide chamber, which is divided into nine segments. The room, which is slightly bulged on the long sides, is divided by partially damaged panels protruding from the dry masonry walls on both sides . Unusual for systems of the Stalled Cairn type are the round mound, the (7.8 m long) lateral (and non-axial) access and a centrally located secondary chamber. The removed roof of the facility was replaced by a modern concrete ceiling after the state took care of the facility in 1934.
From the cairn, the Ring of Brodgar and Maes Howe are visible to the east. One of Deepdale's menhirs can be seen to the west.
The chamber - on the left in front the access to the side cell
The side chamber
Unstan goods
Finds
A lot of human and animal bones have been found but are neither registered nor preserved. Among them were a number of intact skeletons in the chamber and two in the side cell; all in a stool position.
It is the megalithic complex after which the Neolithic Unstan Ware , a typical ceramic in the northern part of the British Isles , was named. The excavation carried out as early as 1884 revealed shattered pottery from at least 30 of the finely decorated bowls.
Like Maes Howe by Normans , Unstan also seems to have been haunted by Picts . Carved runes are faintly recognizable on the stone above the entrance. Next to it is a deeply incised, typical Pictish bird.
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
Coordinates: 58 ° 59 ′ 10.7 " N , 3 ° 14 ′ 57.1" W.