Maes Howe

A magnificent passage grave in Orkney, Scotland, roofed by corbeling and covered by a circular cairn surrounded by a ring ditch. Its unusual plan is a squared burial chamber with three rectangular cells opening from it through doorways placed about a meter above the level of the chamber floor. Nothing was found inside the tomb, but scratched on the wall is a 12th-century AD inscription in runes stating that the grave was looted by Vikings who carried off a great treasure. However, radiocarbon dates average c 2700 BC.

A magnificent passage grave on Orkney, north Scotland. It is covered by a circular mound 7 metres high and 35 metres in diameter and surrounded by a ring ditch. The tomb is built entirely of a local stone which splits easily into rectangular slabs, giving an impression of deliberate dressing. The central chamber is roofed by corbelling and has three additional chambers opening from it, entered through doorways raised about a metre above the floor of the main chamber. Nothing was found in the tomb when it was explored in the 19th century, but a runic inscription tells of the Vikings looting a great treasure in the 12th century. Recent radiocarbon dates indicate that the tomb was built in the late 3rd millenium be (early 3rd millenium BC).