The 2009 book detailing the excavation of a Neolithic stalled cairn in Orkney’s North Isles, is the latest open access title from the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
The Holm of Papa Westray North is one of three Neolithic chambered cairns on the Holm of Papay, a now-uninhabited island off the east coast of Papa Westray.
It was first investigated in 1854, when the Orcadian antiquarian George Petrie “opened a sepulchral mound, which [he] had long desired to explore.”
Excavation by Anna Ritchie in 1982/83 confirmed that Petrie had not revealed the entire structure and that the chamber was divided into four compartments by four orthostatic pairs.
A small cell in the southern end was the first construction on site before being incorporated into the fabric of the stalled chamber. Its entrance was sealed off early in the chamber’s life after being filled with layers of stones, shells, deer tines, animal, fish and human bones.
After it went out of use, the stalled chamber, and its entrance passage, were filled with earth and rubble.
Radiocarbon dates indicated that the tomb was in use from around 3520BC to 2900BC, making it contemporary with activity at the Knap of Howar.
The excavation monograph, On the Fringe of Neolithic Europe: Excavation of a Chambered Cairn on the Holm of Papa Westray, Orkney, by Anna Ritchie, can be downloaded here.
