Maeshowe

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Maeshowe (Orkahaugr) is a Neolithic chambered tomb on Mainland Orkney, Scotland. It was built around 2800 BC and is the largest and most sophisticated example of the Maeshowe tomb type, which is found only in Orkney.

The mound is a grassy circle about 35 meters across and up to 7.3 meters high, with a surrounding ditch. Beneath lies a network of carefully fitted stone slabs forming a long entrance passage and a central chamber with several side cells. The entrance is about 11 meters long and very low, so visitors must stoop to enter. The central chamber is roughly 4.6 meters square and about 3.8 meters high today; the original roof was higher.

Maeshowe is famous for its winter solstice light. The entrance is positioned so that, for a few days around the solstice, the setting sun shines into the chamber.

The tomb is part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, designated in 1999. This group also includes Skara Brae, the Standing Stones of Stenness, and the Ring of Brodgar. The site is managed by Historic Environment Scotland, and a visitor centre at Stenness opened in 2017 with tours by shuttle to the chamber.

In 1861 the tomb was opened by James Farrer. He and workers removed debris and discovered runic inscriptions on the chamber walls—the largest collection of runes ever found in one place. The carvings are from Norse visitors who looted the tomb in the 12th century.

Maeshowe is the eponymous example of a Maeshowe-type tomb, and a few others exist in Orkney, such as Cuween Hill, Wideford Hill, Quanterness, Quoyness (Sanday), Vinquoy Hill (Eday), and a tomb on the Holm of Papa Westray.

The origin of the name Maeshowe is not certain. Archaeologists regard Maeshowe as a remarkable early example of Neolithic engineering, a lasting monument to the people who built it around 5,000 years ago.