Chambered cairn

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Chambered cairn

A chambered cairn is a burial monument, usually constructed during the Neolithic

Neolithic

The Neolithic period was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 Before the Christian Era in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age....
, consisting of a cairn

Cairn

A cairn is a manmade pile of stones, often in a conical form. They are usually found in Upland and lowland , on moorland, on mountaintops or near waterways....
of stones inside which a sizeable (usually stone) chamber was constructed. Some chambered cairns are also passage-graves

Passage grave

A passage grave or passage tomb is a tomb, usually dating to the Neolithic. Some variants have simple single chambers, while other may have sub-chambers leading off from the main burial chamber....
.

Typically, the chamber is larger than a cist

Cist

A cist or kist is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the Dead body. Examples can be found all over the world....
, and will contain a larger number of interments, which are either excarnated

Excarnation

In archaeology and anthropology the term excarnation refers to the burial practice adopted by some societies of removing the flesh of Dead body, leaving only the bones....
bones or inhumations (cremations). Most were situated near a settlement, and served as that community's "graveyard".

land has a particularly large number of chambered cairns, many of radically different type.

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Encyclopedia

A chambered cairn is a burial monument, usually constructed during the Neolithic

Neolithic

Cairn

Passage grave

Cist

Excarnation

Chambered cairns in Scotland

Scotland has a particularly large number of chambered cairns, many of radically different type. Because of the lack of other remains (the only other significant remains we have are Hut circles and field systems), they are perhaps the most important clue we have to what civilisation in Scotland was like in the Neolithic. Here is a short description of each type as the classification currently stands:

Clyde-Carlingford

The Clyde-Carlingford group are to be found in both Scotland and Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
. On the Scottish side, they are mainly found in Argyll

Argyll

Argyll, archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient D?l Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western seaboard between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath....
and Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 Council areas of Scotland of Scotland. To the north, it borders onto South Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire; in the east the Scottish Borders; and to the south the county of Cumbria in England....
, both in the south-west of the country (a small outlying group can be found near Perth

Perth, Scotland

Perth is a town and former royal burgh in central Scotland. Sitting on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative headquarters of Perth and Kinross council area....
). They are not passage-graves since they lack any significant passage and are properly termed gallery grave

Gallery grave

A Gallery grave is a form of Megalithic tomb where there is no size difference between the burial chamber itself and the entrance passage. Two parallel walls of stone slabs were erected to form a corridor and covered with a line of capstones....
s. The burial chamber (although usually blocked after use) is of very basic design and is normally located at one end of the cairn. As a result, it could be immediately accessed from the outside. An open, semi-circular forecourt at the entrance gives them their alternate name of Court cairn

Court cairn

The Court cairn is a megalithic chamber tomb found in south west Scotland and central and northern Ireland. They are alternatively known as Clyde Carlingford tombs, horned cairns or court tombs....
s. They are generally considered to be the earliest in Scotland, dating from 4000 BC and were probably brought to Scotland from Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
.

Hebridean

Sharing some features with the Clyde-Carlingford group is the Hebridean group. As their name suggests they are normally found in the Hebrides

Hebrides

The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups, the Inner and Outer Hebrides....
, and have a crude polygonal chamber and a very short passage to one end of the cairn.

Orkney-Cromarty

The Orkney-Cromarty group is by far the largest and most diverse. It has been subdivided into Yarrows, Camster and Cromarty subtypes but the differences are extremely subtle. In general, they all have dividing slabs at either side of a rectangular chamber, separating it into compartments. The number of these compartments ranges from 4 in the earliest examples to over 24 in an extreme example on Orkney. The actual shape of the cairn varies from simple circular designs to elaborate 'forecourts' protruding from each end, creating what look like small Amphitheatres. It is likely that these are the result of cultural influences from mainland Europe

Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, as they are similar to designs found in France

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
and Spain

Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
.

Bookan

The Bookan type is thought to be the earliest to be found on Orkney

Orkney Islands

Orkney is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles north of the coast of Caithness. Orkney comprises over 70 islands; around 20 are inhabited....
. Because of Orkney's archaeological richness, Bookan type tombs are very hard to find. They are extremely unusual, some being double-deckered! They all seem to have features which suggest some early stage in the development of Maeshowe type tombs.

Maeshowe

The Maeshowe

Maeshowe

Maeshowe 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....
group, named after the famous monument on Orkney, is among the most elaborate. Like their counterparts on Shetland

Shetland Islands

Shetland is an archipelago in Scotland, off the northeast coast. The islands lie to the northeast of Orkney, from the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east....
, they are unlike anything else in Scotland, so it is possible these were the result of local development, or influences from Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a historical and geographical subregion in northern Europe that includes the Scandinavian Peninsula. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; some authorities also include Finland and some might even include Iceland....
. They consist of a central chamber from which lead small compartments, into which burials would be placed.

Shetland

A final category is the Shetland group, of which little is known. On plan, they do look similar to the Maeshowe group although the whole chamber is cross-shaped and there are no small compartments.