A 5,000-year-old tomb: Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a 5,000-year-old tomb in Orkney. It represents the best example of Neolithic engineering in northern Britain. During the excavation, 14 skeletons of women, men and children were found in an adjacent cell chamber/room. Both were embracing each other. The mausoleum is more than 15 meters in diameter and consists of a stone structure accessed by a seven-meter-long walkway.
Dr. Senior Curator of Prehistory (Neolithic) at National Museum Scotland. Hugo Anderson-Wymark led the excavations with Vicky Cummings, Professor of Neolithic Archeology at Cardiff University. The tomb is circular in shape and consists of a rectangular chamber surrounded by six cells with curved arches.
The interior of the mausoleum is seven or eight meters wide. Not only was a grave found in it, but an articulated skeleton was also found in its place. Such stones were used in the construction of the cell chamber which became narrower as it went up. “They’re really amazing engineering,” Anderson-Wymark said. When this mausoleum was originally built it would have been a huge feature, and the carvings inside the stone would have been amazing.’
Orkney and its Neolithic graves
This site was ignored until now. It suffered destruction during the 18th or 19th century, but upon further excavation of the ruins, traces of a stone mace, a ball, and eight skeletonized walls were found.
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First published: October 22, 2023, 16:51 IST