Midhowe Chambered Cairn

The Midhowe Chambered Cairn is a large Neolithic chambered cairn located on the south shore of the island of Rousay, Orkney [1]. The name "Midhowe" comes from the Iron Age broch known as Midhowe Broch, that lies just west of the tomb [1]. The tomb is a particularly well preserved example of the Orkney-Cromarty type of chambered cairn [1]. Tombs of this type are often referred to as "stalled" cairns due to their distinctive internal structure [1]. Stalled cairns have a central passageway flanked by a series of paired transverse stones that separate the side spaces into compartments that reminded early investigators of horse stalls [1]. Midhowe is an extreme example of the form with twelve chambers flanking a passageway 23.6 metres in length [1]. The transverse stones rise to a height of 2 metres and the walls still rise to a height of 2.5 metres [1].