Blackhammer Chambered Cairn

The Blackhammer Chambered Cairn is a Neolithic chambered cairn on the island of Rousay, in Orkney, Scotland. It stands near the base of a hillside and looks out over Eynhallow Sound. The tomb was constructed around 3000 BC, and Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1994. Above it, near the top of the hill and built during the same time period, is the Knowe of Yarso chambered cairn.

The tomb belongs to a group of burial monuments known as Orkney-Cromarty chambered cairns, which are characterised by burial compartments that are separated by upright stone slabs. The oblong tomb measures 22.5 m (74 ft) by 8.9 m (29 ft) externally. Inside, the cairn encloses a long burial chamber measuring 13.5 m (44 ft) by 2 m (6 ft 7 in), and 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in height.

The burial monument was first excavated in 1936. It was determined to have originally been constructed with seven compartments divided by pairs of standing slabs, although four of the original slabs had already been removed by the time of the excavation. Today the tomb is entered through a modern, concrete roof.

Excavation uncovered the skeletal remains of two adult males, together with a pottery bowl, a flint knife, a polished stone axe and animal bones. On the exterior of the tomb, on either side of the entrance, is decorative masonry set in a triangular design, which is described as a characteristic trait of Neolithic tombs on the island of Rousay.

Scotland, and above all Orkney and Caithness, has many Neolithic tombs. In general, a chambered cairn is a stone mound over one or more burial chambers, entered by a passage. Maeshowe on Mainland Orkney was probably built around 2800 BCE and gives its name to the Maeshowe type of cairn, which is limited to Orkney. Its entrance passage is about 11 metres long, and sunlight enters it at the winter solstice and reaches the rear wall of the chamber.

The monument is located near the base of a hillside on the island of Rousay, in Orkney, Scotland. The site looks out over Eynhallow Sound. Dating to around 3000 BC, the tomb belongs to a group of burial monuments known as Orkney–Cromarty chambered cairns, characterized by burial compartments that are separated by upright stone slabs. Above the tomb, near the top of the hill, and built during the same time period, is the Knowe of Yarso chambered cairn.

The oblong tomb measures 22.5 m (74 ft) by 8.9 m (29 ft) externally. The cairn encloses a long burial chamber measuring 13.5 m (44 ft) by 2 m (6 ft 7 in), and 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in height. The burial monument was first excavated in 1936. It was determined to have originally been constructed with seven compartments divided by pairs of standing slabs. Four of the original slabs had been removed at the time of excavation. Currently, the tomb is entered through a modern, concrete roof. Skeletal remains of two adult males were uncovered during excavation, along with a pottery bowl, a flint knife, a polished stone axe and animal bones. On the exterior of the tomb, on either side of the entrance, is decorative masonry set in a triangular design, a characteristic trait of Neolithic tombs on the island of Rousay.