Description

The monument is a burial cairn of Orkney-Cromarty type, dating from the Neolithic period (probably in the fourth millennium BC). It survives as a circular grass-covered mound, approximately 12m in overall diameter and stands up to 0.8m high. The cairn was partly excavated in 1941, which has revealed the internal structure. A passageway, 2.8m long by 0.7m wide, enters the cairn from the E. It leads to a burial chamber, 4.6m long by 2.7m wide, which is divided by two pairs of slabs into three compartments. There had been benches on each side of the chamber, but these are no longer visible. There seem to have been two floor levels: an upper one of clay (at least in the innermost compartment), below which a layer of 'dark ashes' was spread over the whole chamber. Finds included the remains of several pots (including an unusual bowl likely to be early in the Orcadian pottery sequence), flint scrapers and chips, and human remains. Outside the cairn, on the N side of the entrance, a small hollow in the rock contained ashes, burnt bone fragments, flint chips and pottery sherds. The cairn is situated on a gentle S-facing slope at approximately 110m above sea level, overlooking Egilsay and Westray Firth. The monument was originally scheduled in 1935, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

The scheduled area is circular on plan, 35m in diameter, centred on the monument. The scheduling includes the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because it has inherent potential to make a significant contribution to our understanding of the past, in particular the design and construction of burial monuments, and the nature of belief systems and burial practices in Neolithic Orkney. In Orkney, and Rousay in particular, chambered cairns are an important component of the wider prehistoric landscape. They are often focal points and can inform our understanding of prehistoric land-use and social organisation. Although partly excavated, the Knowe of Craie cairn retains its structural characteristics to a marked degree and there is high potential for the survival of further important archaeological evidence. The loss of the monument would significantly diminish our ability to appreciate and understand the meaning and importance of death and burial in prehistoric times and the placing of such monuments within the landscape.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the site as HY43SW19.

References

Davidson, J L and Henshall, A S 1989, The chambered cairns of Orkney: an inventory of the structures and their contents, Edinburgh, 131-2.

Henshall, A S 1963a, The chambered tombs of Scotland, vol.1, Edinburgh, 208, ORK 27.

RCAHMS 1946, The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Twelfth report with an inventory of the ancient monuments of Orkney and Shetland, 3v Edinburgh, 206, no 568.

Renfrew, C, 1979, Investigations in Orkney. Society of Antiquaries of London, Research Report no 38, London.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland