| Maes Howe |
Article Index for Maes |
Information AboutMaes Howe |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MAESHOWE | |
| world heritage sites in scotland | |
| archaeological sites in scotland | |
| orkney | |
| scheduled ancient monuments in scotland | |
| stone age sites in scotland | |
| barrows | |
|
Maeshowe (or '''Maes Howe''') is a Neolithic Chambered Cairn and Passage Grave situated on Mainland Orkney , Scotland . The monuments around Maeshowe, including Skara Brae , were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 . It gives its name to the Maeshowe type of chambered cairn, which bears no similarities to any other known chambered cairn design, either in Orkney or elsewhere. Built of 30 tons of sandstone, Maeshowe is one of the largest tombs in Orkney. It is aligned so that its central chamber is illuminated on the Winter Solstice . Built originally by Grooved Ware People , the site is close to several other significant ancient monuments thought to be contemporary with Maeshowe. As described in the CE. The Vikings left, in their passing, a series of Runic Graffiti on the stone walls of the chamber while they sheltered. Over thirty individual inscriptions remain, the largest collection in the world. The Corbelled roof was shattered in 1861 by overenthusiastic archaeologists, who also discarded all the material found in the tomb (including possible artifacts). They did relatively little structural damage, however, and the site still represents a standard of exacting design and construction not found anywhere else in the British Isles . TOPONYMY The origin of the name ''Maeshowe'' is uncertain. While the second element is certainly from the Old Norse ''haugr'', usually meaning a burial mound, there have been several different theories postulated for the first element, ''maes''. These include:
SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS |
|
|