Description

The monument consists of a Neolithic chambered burial cairn, situated near to the E shore of the promontory of Els Ness. The cairn was in use around 2900 BC. The cairn has been excavated and has been capped with a modern roof. It is in the care of the Secretary of State.

Quoyness is a very substantial cairn built on a low platform measuring some 38m N-S by 30m E-W. The cairn itself is oval on plan, 20.4m E-W by 17.0m and 4.3m high, and is constructed in three concentric shells, each of which has a well-built outer revetment. As displayed, these revetments appear as features on the top surface of the cairn, but it is not known if this was the case as originally built.

The cairn is entered by a passage from the SE, and appears to have been blocked by the outermost of the three shells of the cairn, suggesting that the monument was modified over time, possibly in a planned sequence of events as its use progressed. The main chamber is rectangular and gives access to six subsidiary chambers.

The main chamber is extremely well-built in course drystone masonry. It rises to 4m in height and in that rise narrows from 4.1m by 2.2m to 3.3m by 0.9m. The top could have been closed easily by large flagstones, but this had already been broken in when the tomb was explored.

The side chambers are corbelled. A circular stone-lined cist in the S corner of the main chamber held fragmentary skeletal remains of at least ten adults and four or five children. An oval depression in the E corner of the main chamber held no human remains. Further human remains were found in four of the side chambers. Artefacts of stone and bone were also recovered.

The area to be scheduled is a quadrilateral, measuring a maximum of 45m E-W by 43m N-S, bounded on the E by the high water mark of the shore and on the W by a field fence (which is excluded). It includes the cairn and an area around in which evidence relating to its construction and use may survive, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

Quoyness cairn is of national importance as a fine field monument, the best built, apart from Maeshowe itself, of the Maeshowe group of Orkney chambered cairns. It provides important evidence for the quality of Neolithic workmanship and by implication the high degree of importance afforded to burial in Neolithic ritual. By comparison with other cairns it has the potential to contribute to an understanding of the functions, origins and development of such monuments within contemporary society.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as HY 63 NE 1.
Historic Environment Scotland Properties
Quoyness Chambered Cairn
https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/quoyness-chambered-cairn
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Source: Historic Environment Scotland