Stonework steps across a west-facing hillside above Kirkwall and the Bay of Firth. Wideford Hill chambered cairn is a Neolithic chambered cairn: a prehistoric burial cairn entered by a passage and divided into chambers.
The monument is valuable for showing construction as well as burial architecture. Its exposed masonry preserves three nested wall circuits on an earthen platform, while the hill-cut passage reaches a stone-lined chamber and corbelled side cells built with overlapping stones.
What follows is drawn from published sources, with each claim labelled by how firmly it is established.
History
Wideford Hill chambered cairn is on Mainland Orkney near Kirkwall. The tomb dates to around 2000 BC. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1994.
The monument faces the Bays of Firth and Kirkwall from a steep west-facing hill. Its visible masonry shows three concentric walls built on an earthen platform. The original cairn shape was probably rounded or conical and covered in clay and turf.
A low narrow passage cut into the slope reaches a rectangular chamber with three smaller cells. George Petrie excavated the site in the 1840s and found no human remains or other finds. Modern entry is through a reconstructed concrete roof, with a steep metal ladder noted in the pack.
People
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George Petrie
antiquary who excavated the tomb in the 1840s.
Connections
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Photo: Otter at Dutch Wikipedia (Original text: Hopmans) / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 Maeshowe
The cairn is described as similar in design to Maeshowe.
What to look for
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Concentric walling
The visible masonry shows three construction rings.
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Roof hatch access
The pack notes modern entry through a roof hatch and steep ladder.
Plan your visit
- Location
- 58.9919°N · 3.0300°W
- Access
- Open access
- Terrain
- Easy going
Opening & admission
The source pack does not provide reliable current admission details; verify before travelling.
- The pack notes a hatch entry, steep metal ladder, and that a torch is recommended/provided.
Nearby places
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Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn
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Cuween Hill is a Neolithic chambered cairn on the Orkney Mainland, dating to around 3000 BC and built by Neolithic farmers as a burial place. It is…
- Near Finstown
- 270 metres from car park
- Easy path
Questions people ask
- What is Wideford Hill chambered cairn?
- It is a Neolithic tomb near Kirkwall, built as a cairn with a passage and internal chambers.
- What can be seen there?
- The pack notes visible construction rings, an entrance passage, a main chamber, and smaller side cells.
- Who excavated it?
- George Petrie excavated the cairn in the 1840s.
- How is the tomb entered now?
- The pack says entry is through a hatch in the reconstructed roof and down a steep metal ladder.
Sources
- Wikipedia article
- Source pack: Wideford Hill chambered cairn
Explore more: Tomb or burial places · Prehistoric · Orkney Islands
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