A grass-covered mound below Wideford Hill hides a Neolithic tomb and later Iron Age reuse. Quanterness chambered cairn is a Neolithic chambered cairn: a prehistoric stone cairn built around a passage, central chamber, and side compartments.
Excavation made Quanterness one of the most informative Orkney tombs, even though it is not a public visitor site. Human remains, pottery, tools, animal and bird bones, a Maeshowe-type layout, and an Iron Age roundhouse added to the cairn show repeated attention to the same mound across long periods.
What follows is drawn from published sources, with each claim labelled by how firmly it is established.
History
Quanterness was established as a scheduled monument in 1929. The Quanterness mound lies below the north side of Wideford Hill. Radiocarbon dating places the tomb construction around 3400 BC.
Rev George Barry excavated the burial monument around 1796. Colin Renfrew excavated the site from 1972 to 1974. Renfrew recovered about 12,500 human bone fragments, pottery, and other artefacts.
Analysis identified remains from 157 human burials, with estimates that more may remain unexcavated. An Iron Age roundhouse built into the mound dates probably to around 700 BC.
People
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Rev George Barry
early excavator around 1796.
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Portrait: Portable Antiquities Scheme from London, England / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0 Colin Renfrew
archaeologist who investigated the cairn from 1972 to 1974.
Connections
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Photo: David Wyatt / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0 Wideford Hill chambered cairn
Quanterness lies north-east of it, near Wideford Hill.
What to look for
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Buried tomb plan
The mound covers a passage, central chamber, and multiple side compartments.
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Later roundhouse
An Iron Age roundhouse was discovered built into the cairn.
Plan your visit
- Location
- 58.9920°N · 3.0203°W
- Access
- Open access
- Terrain
- Moderate walking
Opening & admission
The source pack does not provide reliable current admission details; verify before travelling.
- The pack says the tomb is on private property and is not accessible to the public.
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Questions people ask
- What is Quanterness chambered cairn?
- It is a Neolithic burial cairn near Wideford Hill, later reused when an Iron Age roundhouse was built into it.
- Is Quanterness open to the public?
- The source pack says the tomb is on private property and is not accessible to the public.
- Who excavated it?
- Rev George Barry investigated it around 1796, and Colin Renfrew excavated it from 1972 to 1974.
- What was found there?
- Excavation found human remains, pottery, flint knives, bone pins, a hammerstone, and an antler hammer.
Sources
- Wikipedia article
- Source pack: Quanterness chambered cairn
Explore more: Tomb or burial places · Prehistoric · Orkney Islands
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