Description

The monument consists of a Neolithic chambered burial cairn which is situated on a S-facing hillside.

Blackhammer has been excavated and provided with a concrete roof to make it accessible to visitors. It is in the care of the Secretary of State.

The cairn measures 22.5m by 8.9m externally and is elongated WNW-ESE. It contains a long chamber 13.5m by 2.0m which survives to approximately 2m above floor level. The chamber was originally divided into seven compartments by pairs of upright slabs set into the ground and inner wall-face, and projecting into the chamber. The entrance was by a passage in the centre of the S, long, side, and was blocked in antiquity.

The entrance passage is not at right angles to the cairn wall. Both it, and its blocking, have been preserved, and visitor access is through the modern roof. Where the entrance passage enters the chamber a secondary masonry construction of obscure purpose was located. The building of this had necessitated the removal of the slabs dividing the central compartments, although their slots still survive in the inner wall-face. Excavation produced only two burials, one of these in the entrance passage and the other in the W end compartment. Stone and flint tools and a pottery bowl were recovered in the excavations.

The area to be scheduled is rectangular and is contained within the fence surrounding the monument. It measures 30m E-W by 14m N-S and is shown in red on the accompanying map. The boundary fence and concrete roof are included.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a fine field example of a Neolithic chambered tomb of the Orkney stalled cairn type, and as one of a remarkable group of such monuments on the island of Rousay. It has the potential to provide information about the evolution and construction of such burial places and their role in Neolithic society.

Although the chamber has been emptied, the old ground surface sealed below the cairn retains the potential to yield information relating to contemporary land-use, and the body of the cairn itself, and the entrance blocking, may contain important information about the construction and modification of cairns.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as HY 42 NW 3.
Historic Environment Scotland Properties
Blackhammer Chambered Cairn
https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/blackhammer-chambered-cairn
Find out more

Source: Historic Environment Scotland