Mid Howe Chambered Cairn, Rousay, Orkney

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The impressive communal burial chamber of Mid Howe on Rousay, Orkney, is a magnificent example of an ‘Orkney-Cromarty’ cairn, a type of drystone monument from the Neolithic era. Its entrance passage leads directly to a long central chamber, divided by pairs of upright stone slabs into 12 distinct stalls or compartments, some featuring low stone shelves on one side. In 1932-3, Callander and Grant conducted an excavation that revealed at least 25 human skeletons, along with stone tools, pottery, and animal bone. The site was further protected in the mid-1930s by a stone-built hangar, allowing visitors to appreciate the outer layer of decorative stonework arranged in a herringbone pattern. The Mid Howe cairn is now under the care of HES and remains open to the public at no cost. For more information on visiting, please visit our website. To delve deeper into the history of this remarkable cairn, explore the archives at HES.