Wideford Hill Chambered Cairn
Also known asWideford Hill,chambered cairn
Datedc. 2580–2000 BCE
Photo David Wyatt · CC BY-SA 2.0Source file on Wikimedia Commons
Overview
About this site
Overview
Wideford Hill chambered cairn is a Neolithic chambered cairn on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland, near Kirkwall. It is similar in design to the Maeshowe chambered cairn. A radiocarbon range of 2580 to 2470 BCE is recorded for it, while the tomb has also been described as dating to around 2000 BC.
Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1994.
Read on Wikipedia2 min readCC BY-SA 4.0
Age sources
How old this site is, and who says so.
Range across all claimsc. 2580–2000 BCE
MeasuredWhat this badge means
A physical measurement of this site: a radiocarbon date, a tree-ring count, a luminescence date, or a record that can itself be dated.
- 2580–2470 BCERadiocarbon dating3 radiocarbon dates in the p3k14c database (Bird et al. 2022, Scientific Data 9:27 (p3k14c radiocarbon database)) between 4455 and 4530 BP; the range shown is tSource: p3k14c.org
- 2000 BCEWikipedia: Wideford Hill chambered cairn (infobox)Source: en.wikipedia.org
Where it sits in time
The site's dated range, placed against world reference points.
The scale is logarithmic: each step to the left is about ten times older than the last.
Article
Wideford Hill Chambered Cairn
The cairn is situated on a steep west-facing hill northwest of Wideford Hill and faces the Bays of Firth and Kirkwall.
DescriptionSources for this section
Sources for this section
The cairn is situated on a steep west-facing hill northwest of Wideford Hill and faces the Bays of Firth and Kirkwall. The visible masonry shows the different construction stages of the cairn, with its three concentric walls built on an earthen platform. The monument has a stepped facade, but its original shape was probably rounded or conical, with the stonework covered in clay and turf.
The entrance is on the west side. The entrance passage is low and narrow, somewhat curved, and takes up one third of the entire passage. The inner passage, cut into the hill, is covered with lintel slabs and leads to a rectangular stone-lined chamber and three side chambers, which are corbelled. Entry to the tomb is now through a reconstructed concrete roof.
ExcavationsSources for this section
Sources for this section
The site was excavated in the 1840s by George Petrie. He did not uncover any human remains or other finds. The main chamber had previously been filled with rubble, and Petrie suggested that the burial monument had been filled with rubble and abandoned.
VisitingSources for this section
Sources for this section
Access to the cairn is via a hatch in the top and a steep metal ladder. A torch is recommended, and one is provided on site.
ContextSources for this section
Sources for this section
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.
Tradition and region
About this kind of monument
Orkney, Caithness and Scottish chambered cairns
Scotland, and above all Orkney and Caithness, has many Neolithic tombs. 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. It is part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site. In the twelfth century Norse visitors broke in through the roof and left runic inscriptions inside.
Orkney also has the Quoyness cairn on Sanday, built about 3000 BCE and similar in design to Maeshowe, where the remains of several people were found in 1867. Unstan, on a promontory into the Loch of Stenness, is an atypical hybrid of the two main types of Orkney cairn and gave its name to Unstan ware, a type of pottery. The Tomb of the Eagles at Isbister on South Ronaldsay stands on a cliff edge.
On the mainland, the Grey Cairns of Camster in Caithness are two large chambered cairns dating to around 3000 BCE, among the oldest structures in Scotland, with central chambers reached by narrow passages. They were excavated and restored by Historic Environment Scotland and are open to the public.
Dating rests on radiocarbon dates from bone and on pottery, but many cairns were opened by antiquarians in the nineteenth century before records were kept. The Atlas gives a typological range of the fourth to third millennium BCE for most.
When visiting, check access in advance, since some cairns have narrow passages and others are open only at set times.
Paraphrased from Wikipedia: Chambered cairn, Wikipedia: Maes Howe, Wikipedia: Quoyness chambered cairn, Wikipedia: Unstan chambered cairn, Wikipedia: Isbister Chambered Cairn, Wikipedia: Midhowe Chambered Cairn, Wikipedia: Grey Cairns of Camster · CC BY-SA 4.0
From the article
Dated moments in the story
Photographs
8 photographs, each with its author and licence
More photographs
Lore
Evidence & Lore
What the sources actually support — and, kept apart, what has been claimed.
What the evidence supports
Dates
2580–2470 BCEHow this date was established: Radiocarbon dating3 radiocarbon dates in the p3k14c database (Bird et al. 2022, Scientific Data 9:27 (p3k14c radiocarbon database)) between 4455 and 4530 BP; the range shown is the middle half of the measurements; uncalibrated ages, shown as calendar years with the conventional BP + 1950 conversion.Source for this date
Where it stands
United Kingdom
The pin marks the monument itself — its exact point.
- Coordinates
- 58°59′36″ N, 3°01′46″ WFor a GPS or map app: 58.99328, -3.02934
Access is as our sources describe it; we have not visited the site to check.
Nearby
The closest sites in the Atlas, by straight line.
Quanterness- Cyclopean masonryIngashowe,broch 300m NE of,Finstown390 BCE–200 CE
Ramberry Cairn2900–800 BCE- Chambered cairnCrantit1520–1420 BCE
- Cyclopean masonrybroch & chapel 200m S of Burness390 BCE–200 CE
- Cyclopean masonryBroch of Lingro, broch390 BCE–200 CE
Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn2095–1975 BCE- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)burial mounds 500m ENE of Groundwater4000–800 BCE
Sources
Every record behind this page, with the link it came from.
3 sources behind this page
- 01Wikidata Q945769wikidata.org
- 02Source for this datep3k14c.org
- 03Wikipedia: Wideford Hill Chambered Cairnen.wikipedia.org
Image files
- Wideford Hill cairn - geograph.org.uk - 55888.jpgDavid WyattCC BY-SA 2.0
- Wideford Cairn - geograph.org.uk - 6893810.jpgGordon HattonCC BY-SA 2.0
- Wideford Hill Chambered Cairn entrance from inside.jpgBeep boop beepCC BY-SA 4.0
- Wideford Hill Chambered Cairn exterior.jpgBeep boop beepCC BY-SA 4.0
- Wideford Hill Chambered Cairn interior.jpgBeep boop beepCC BY-SA 4.0
- Wideford Hill Chambered Cairn showing original entrance.jpgBeep boop beepCC BY-SA 4.0
- Wideford Hill Cairn - geograph.org.uk - 3617080.jpgBill BoadenCC BY-SA 2.0
- Wideford Hill Cairn - geograph.org.uk - 3617014.jpgBill BoadenCC BY-SA 2.0
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Around this place
The ten nearest sites, by compass
- Quanterness0.5 km E
- Ingashowe,broch 300m NE of,Finstown2.0 km W
- Ramberry Cairn2.1 km NE
- Crantit3.8 km SE
- broch & chapel 200m S of Burness3.9 km NW
- Broch of Lingro, broch4.3 km SE
- Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn4.5 km W
- burial mounds 500m ENE of Groundwater4.9 km SW
- Groundwater, mound 200m NNW of, Loch of Kirbister5.3 km SW
- two mounds 280m NNW of West Puldrite6.3 km N
Credit
Text, licence and sources
Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Wideford Hill chambered cairn" (English), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; authors are listed in the page history. Reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikipedia · Edit history and authors