Cuween Hill Chambered Tomb, Orkney

Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn, near Finstown, Mainland, Orkney, is a late Neolithic (c.3200-2300 BC) 'Maes Howe'-type tomb. The tomb is located on the side of the hill and the floor is cut into sandstone bedrock. The chambers are constructed from fine dry-stone walling with corbelled roofs. The mound measures c.55 feet in diameter and the main chamber is 8 feet 6 inches tall. The tomb was partly excavated by James Cursiter in 1888 and more extensively investigated by Malcolm M. Charleston in 1901. The tomb contained at least 8 burials and the skulls of 24 dogs. The latter may have been a totemic animal, but they were probably deposited in the Bronze Age rather than the Neolithic. The tomb sites above the Neolithic settlement site of Stonehall, which was excavated by Prof Colin Richards in the 1990s. This site is managed by Historic Environment Scotland and is open to the public. For more information see CANMORE: http://canmore.org.uk/site/2059 Modelled using 1200 photos taken with a Canon 70d.