The Tomb of the Eagles

The Tomb of the Eagles is a Neolithic chambered cairn in Isbister in South Ronaldsay, the southern-most island of Orkney. Unlike most tombs in Orkney, which were either emptied prior to their closure in ancient times or have been destroyed thanks to time, treasure-hunters or clumsy antiquarians, the Tomb of the Eagles survived intact until its careful excavation in the late 20^th century, through which our knowledge of Neolithic Orkney has surged.

The tomb was built around 3150BC, and comprises a stone-built and grass-covered mound which covers a central chamber accessed by a low passage, three metres long, through which visitors have to crawl on their hands and knees. The main chamber contained bodies which were largely intact, perhaps after their excarnation (devouring by carrion-eaters) but before they were deposited with the rest of the ‘ancestors’. It seems the process of death was a long-drawn-out affair in Neolithic Orkney. Side chambers contained unarticulated bones, largely sorted into groups of skulls and other bones. The tomb contained at least 340 people, including men, women, children and babies.

Around 2500BC, the time when bronze started to filter into Britain, the social structure in Orkney collapsed. The tombs which had been used for nearly a thousand years, along with other ritual buildings such as at the Ness of Brodgar, were carefully dismantled or sealed and never used again. The passage of the Isbister cairn was blocked from the inside and the entire tomb was filled with rubble, soil and ancient human bones, perhaps those kept as relics in houses. It was never entered again, although many Bronze Age burial cists nearby indicate the remembered sanctity of the site.

Skulls and round-bottomed Unstan Ware pottery deposited in a side chamber.

Each of the dozens of tombs in Orkney was likely linked to an individual settlement or community, and each seems to have been close-knit and independent. Studies of the skeletons show a high incidence of genetic abnormalities which suggests a large degree of in-breeding. Other Orkney tombs show a different range of abnormalities.

Many are linked to specific and often unique animals or birds which may have totemic links. The Isbister cairn is uniquely associated with sea eagles, which were once common on the high cliffs of the area. Like many of the potential ‘totems’, sea eagles are carrion-eaters and were plausibly used to devour the bodies of the deceased before their interment in the tomb.

Like many Orkney tombs, Isbister opens out across the sea, but the unusual thirty-metre sheer drop is reminiscent of the soaring spirit of the sea eagle.

 A foundation deposit sealed under the flagstone floor comprised bones of humans and sea eagles, dating to 3150BC, and eagle talons were placed with many of the bodies. One had fifteen talons which perhaps formed a necklace. Perhaps eagle-catching was a test of status for the people of Isbister. Scaling the precipitous and sea-lashed cliffs to reach their nesting sites would certainly have tested the physical and mental strength of anybody.

Nearly a thousand years after the tomb was sealed, in 1500BC, a cist grave was inserted in the mound, and this also contained sea eagle bones along with the human remains. Orkney’s status and way of life had changed immensely since the beginning of the Bronze Age, but it seems the people of Isbister had not forgotten their ancient heritage.

White-tailed sea eagle. Jacob Spinks, Wikicommons.

Maes Howe Passage Grave

Maes Howe in Orkney is one of the most elaborate and finely built passage graves known. It was built in the late Neolithic Period, around 2700BC, on a wide, grassy plain a short distance from and in view of the other famous monuments of Neolithic Orkney including the Stones of Stenness, the Ring of Brodgar and the Ness of Brodgar. 

The mound is seven metres high and 35 metres wide – exceptionally large for an Orkney grave – and comprises a passage seven metres long which has to be followed at a crouch to reach a large inner chamber, built of corbelled stone with a phenomenal degree of craftsmanship. The five-metre high ceiling makes it the highest and most impressive Neolithic structure still standing. Three smaller chambers which can only be entered by crawling through their tiny entrances were built on each side. Provision was made to seal each chamber and also seal the main passage from the inside.

 Ward Hill on the island of Hoy 

Unlike other Orkney tombs, with the possible exception of the now-ruined Pierowall on the island of Westray, Maes Howe is aligned to the midwinter sunset which shines down the passage to illuminate the inner chamber. This may explain the unusual height of the passage. Most Orkney tombs have to be entered on one’s belly. The sun from Maes Howe at midwinter sets over Ward Hill on the island of Hoy, the highest point on Orkney, which no doubt explains its location. A standing stone a few hundred metres from Maes Howe also marks the same alignment. This is reminiscent of the much older Newgrange passage grave in Ireland, and there are known links between the two areas in the Neolithic period.

The Barnhouse standing stone and Maes Howe

When Maes Howe was opened by Norse warriors, and later by Victorian antiquaries, no human remains or other relics were recorded. Perhaps they were long destroyed, or perhaps it was never truly a tomb. Its elaborate design and its alignment mark it as separate from other tombs. Its enclosure by a wide and deep ditch, dug as the mound was built and with no causeway across it, is also unique for a passage grave but typical for henge monuments in Orkney and across Britain. It may have been designed as a ‘spirit house’ but in a different way, perhaps absorbing the spirit of the sun to fertilise the womb of the earth.

The interior of Maes Howe, showing the much older standing stones. Islandhopper, Wikicommons.

An earlier structure once stood on the site of the mound, also aligned to the midwinter sunset. This is suggested to have been a house but the importance of its location means it would have been far more than an ordinary dwelling. Four large standing stones were placed in the corners of the inner chamber, offering no structural purpose, and these were likely incorporated from an earlier monument or stone circle, perhaps around the ‘house’ itself, as a memorial or to seed its spiritual essence. Similar stones were used to form the entrance passage. Stone settings at the Stones of Stenness and an elaborate building at the nearby Barnhouse village are aligned to Maes Howe. These both predate the mound so were linking to this earlier structure.

Some of the runic inscriptions. Islandhopper, Wikicommons.

Maes Howe was entered by Norse warriors around 1100AD and it was named as ‘Orkahaugr’ in the 13^th century Orkneyinga Saga. Legend says warriors were forced to spend the night in the chamber during a storm and two of them went insane after their ordeal. The spirits of the mound were obviously still potent.

Another Norse legacy is the largest collection of runic inscriptions outside Scandinavia. These mainly comprise men carving their names and making lewd comments about women. Some make reference to a recent discovery of hidden treasure. Elaborate gold and bronze grave goods are associated with a much later time period, so presuming the inscription is not a treasure-hunter’s joke, it may refer to ancient relics such as carved stones, as were found at Newgrange and Pierowall, whose spiritual importance was still recognised. We will probably never know.

The decorated stones once found in the now-ruined Pierowall monument.