Maeshowe (also spelled Maes Howe; Old Norse: Orkahaugr) is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave located on Mainland Orkney, Scotland. It was likely built around 2800 BC. In Scottish archaeology, it is known for giving its name to the Maeshowe type of chambered cairn, a structure found only in Orkney.
Maeshowe is an important example of Neolithic craftsmanship. Archaeologist Stuart Piggott described it as "a superlative monument that by its originality of execution is lifted out of its class into a unique position." The site is protected as a scheduled monument and is part of the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney," a group of sites that includes Skara Brae. This group was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
Name and etymology
The monument now called Maeshowe was first mentioned in Old Norse writings as Orkahaugr. This name appears in the medieval Orkneyinga saga. In Old Norse, "haugr" means "mound" or "burial mound," and "Orka" could be a person's name or refer to the place called Orkney. Therefore, the name is usually understood to mean "Ork's mound" or "the mound of Orkney."
The modern name Maeshowe came later from Scottish place-name parts. The word "howe" comes from Old Norse "haugr," which means "mound." The first part, "Maes," is less clear and may be a later change of the earlier Norse name.
Old writers often spelled the name as "Maes Howe" or "Maes-howe," following older English spelling rules.
Some experts have suggested that "Maes" might come from Scottish Gaelic. Hugh Marwick, a place-name expert, thought it could be from the Gaelic word "mas," meaning "buttock" or "rounded hill," describing the shape of the mound. However, Celtic names are rare in the Northern Isles, and Marwick considered this idea uncertain.
Other theories link "Maes" to the Welsh word "maes," meaning "field" or "open area." But this explanation is also seen as unlikely.
Like many ancient monuments in Britain, the tomb itself is much older than the name used for it. The chambered cairn was built around 2800 BCE, thousands of years before Norse settlers arrived in Orkney.
Design and construction
Maeshowe is one of the largest stone tombs in Orkney. The grass-covered mound that surrounds the tomb is about 35 metres (115 ft) wide and rises to a height of 7.3 metres (24 ft). A ditch runs around the base of the mound, located about 15 to 21 metres (49 to 69 ft) away from the mound and up to 14 metres (46 ft) wide.
Underneath the mound is a well-built stone structure made of a passage and a central chamber, constructed from large stones from the local area. Some of these stones weigh as much as 30 tons. The structure is aligned so that sunlight enters the passage during the winter solstice and reaches the back wall of the central chamber. A similar effect happens at Newgrange, another ancient tomb where sunlight also enters the interior during midwinter.
The entrance passage is about 11 metres (36 ft) long and leads to a central chamber that is nearly square, with each side measuring about 4.6 metres (15 ft). Today, the chamber stands about 3.8 metres (12 ft) high, matching the height of the remaining original stones. A modern curved roof now covers the chamber, though the original roof may have been taller, reaching about 4.6 metres (15 ft) or more.
The passage itself is only about 0.91 metres (3.0 ft) high, requiring visitors to bend or crawl as they move through it before entering the taller central chamber. Inside, the walls are made of large flat stones, many stretching almost the full length of each wall. In each corner, large angled supports rise upward toward the vault. At a height of about 0.91 metres (3.0 ft), the construction changes from flat stones to overlapping stones, forming the beehive-shaped vault that covers the chamber.
Estimates of the work needed to build Maeshowe vary. One estimate suggests about 39,000 hours of labor, while archaeologist Colin Renfrew calculated that at least 100,000 hours of work may have been required. These numbers show that the monument was built by a large group of people working together over a long time.
Dating when Maeshowe was built is difficult, but burials in similar tombs date to about 3000 BC. Because Maeshowe is the largest and most complex example of its type, archaeologists believe it was built around 2800 BC, marking the final stage of this architectural style.
Siting
Maeshowe is part of a larger Neolithic ceremonial area in central Orkney, which also includes the nearby stone circles of the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness.
Maeshowe appears as a grassy mound rising from a flat plain near the southeast end of the Loch of Harray. The area around Maeshowe when it was built likely looked similar to how it appears today: treeless, with grasses that indicate "pollen assemblage zone" MNH-I, which suggests "mixed agricultural practices, probably with a focus on raising animals—there is a large amount of ribwort pollen, as well as pollen from grains."
Maeshowe is aligned with other Neolithic sites nearby. For example, the entrance of "Structure 8" at the Barnhouse Settlement directly faces the mound. Also, the "Barnhouse Stone," located about 700 meters away in a field, is perfectly aligned with the entrance to Maeshowe. This entrance corridor is positioned so that sunlight from the setting sun enters the chamber for a few days before and after the winter solstice, lighting up the entrance to the back chamber.
A Neolithic "low road" connects Maeshowe to the well-preserved village of Skara Brae, passing near the Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar. These low roads link Neolithic ceremonial sites across Britain. Some archaeologists believe Maeshowe was originally surrounded by a large stone circle. The complex that includes Maeshowe, the Ring of Brodgar, the Standing Stones of Stenness, Skara Brae, and other tombs and standing stones represents a group of Neolithic sites that is only matched in Britain by the areas around Stonehenge and Avebury.
People and society
Maeshowe was built by early farming groups living in central Orkney during the late fourth and early third millennia BC. This monument shows how these groups could organize large group building projects and spend a lot of time working on structures linked to rituals and traditions tied to ancestors.
Archaeological findings suggest the builders were connected to the cultural style known as Grooved Ware pottery, which began in Orkney around 3000 BC and later spread across Britain and Ireland.
Building Maeshowe required cutting, moving, and placing very large slabs of local flagstone. Estimates of the work needed show that thousands of hours of coordinated effort were required, showing the involvement of a large community and shared traditions tied to ceremonies.
Monuments like Maeshowe seem to have been important in the social and ceremonial lives of Neolithic Orkney. The size and visibility of the cairn suggest it was not only a burial site but also a place where people gathered and held rituals connected to seasonal events and remembering ancestors.
Style
The Maeshowe tomb is named after a type of Scottish chambered cairn found only in Orkney. These tombs are very similar to the famous Newgrange tomb in Ireland, showing a possible connection between the two cultures. Maeshowe-type tombs are marked by a long, narrow entrance passage that leads to a square or rectangular chamber. From this chamber, there are openings to several side rooms. While there is some debate about which tombs belong to this type, only seven are confirmed. On Mainland, these include Maeshowe itself, as well as the tombs at Cuween Hill, Wideford Hill, and Quanterness. The tomb at Quoyness is located on Sanday, and Vinquoy Hill is on Eday. There is also an unnamed tomb on the Holm of Papa Westray. Anna Ritchie reported that three more Maeshowe-type tombs exist in Orkney, but she did not name or locate them.
Chambered tombs are usually associated with grave goods, which were found at Cuween Hill and the tomb on Holm of Papa Westray but not at Maeshowe. A passage grave is described as follows:
Peter Tompkins, in 1971, suggested that the advanced engineering of Maeshowe might explain the absence of human remains there. He compared Maeshowe to the Great Pyramid of Giza, proposing that the site was used as an observatory, calendar, and for May Day ceremonies rather than as a tomb. Tompkins studied many documents about the Great Pyramid and noted that the central chamber at Maeshowe was "corbeled" like the Grand Gallery of the Great Pyramid. He described the structure as carefully leveled and precisely built, with joints of high quality similar to those in the Great Pyramid. Instead of being tomb chambers, Tompkins believed these spaces might have been "retiring rooms" for observers. He also pointed out that the entrance of Maeshowe resembled Egyptian pyramids, with a 54-foot passage aligned like a telescope toward a megalithic stone 2,772 feet away, which marked the summer solstice. A "Watchstone" to the west of Maeshowe was said to indicate the equinoxes. The passage also pointed to a northern star, like the pyramids of Saqqara, Dashur, and Medûm. Tompkins noted the surprising similarity between these Egyptian pyramids and Maeshowe. He referenced Professor Alexander Thom, a former Oxford engineering professor, who wrote about Maeshowe’s construction and astronomical alignment in 1967.
Tompkins, citing Thom and others, explained that Maeshowe, Silbury Hill, and other ancient mounds and Neolithic structures in Britain were used as precise observatories, calendars, and beacons for travelers. These sites also played a role in ceremonial events, such as May Day celebrations, over 4,000 years ago.
Norse intrusion and runic inscriptions
Maeshowe was not kept closed after it was built. In the 12th century, Norse people entered the mound and went into the central chamber. Evidence found by archaeologists shows they forced their way in from above, breaking through the roof instead of using the original entrance. At that time, the monument had already stood for about 4,000 years. Inside the chamber, the visitors carved more than 30 runic inscriptions on the stone walls. These carvings are the largest single group of runic inscriptions found in one place.
The inscriptions have different tones and messages, and they look more like informal graffiti than formal memorials. One carving says, "These runes were carved by the man most skilled in runes west of the ocean." Another reads, "Ingigerth is the most beautiful of women." Another carving states, "The man who is most skilled in runes west of the ocean carved these runes."
Many inscriptions also include the names of the people who carved them, leaving behind small clues about the individuals who entered the monument. In total, the chamber has about 33 inscriptions made by several different people, showing the mound was visited multiple times during the Norse period.
Stories about Norse people entering ancient burial mounds also appear in medieval literature. A similar story is in the Orkneyinga saga. In the saga, the mound is called Orkahaugr, meaning "Orkney mound." According to the story, a group led by Harald Maddadsson and Rognvald, Earl of More, entered the mound after being caught in a snowstorm. They sheltered inside and later searched the chamber for treasure. Although the saga mixes history with legend, it matches archaeological evidence of Norse people entering the monument in the 12th century.
This activity shows broader Norse traditions about ancient burial mounds. In Scandinavian folklore, these mounds were often believed to contain treasure guarded by draugar, the restless spirits of the dead. Stories of heroes breaking into burial mounds to find treasure appear often in Old Norse literature.
When the chamber was opened again in the 19th century by researchers, the walls were covered with runic carvings. Their discovery showed an unexpected medieval period in the monument's history, preserving signs of Norse visitors who had entered the mound centuries earlier.
Modern research continues to study the runic inscriptions. Special photography techniques, such as reflectance transformation imaging, have been used to document the carvings in detail. These methods help reveal small marks and allow scholars to understand the order in which the runes were carved.
Excavation
In July 1861, the tomb was opened again by James Farrer, an antiquarian and a member of Parliament for South Durham. Farrer, like many antiquarians of that time, was not known for carefully digging at sites. John Hedges described Farrer as having a strong desire to dig, but his methods were rough and not well thought out, and he struggled to share his findings in writing.
Farrer and his workers broke through the roof of the entrance passage and found it filled with broken material. He then focused on the top of the mound, broke through, and over several days, removed all the material that had completely filled the main chamber.
He and his workers discovered famous runic carvings on the walls, showing that Norse people had entered the tomb at least six centuries earlier.
Excavations later showed that the outer wall around the ditch was rebuilt in the 9th century. Some archaeologists believe this suggests the tomb may have been used again by the Norse people, and that they were the ones who left the "treasure" found by later looters.
World Heritage status
The "Heart of Neolithic Orkney" was named a World Heritage site in December 1999. This site includes Maeshowe, Skara Brae, the Standing Stones of Stenness, the Ring of Brodgar, and other nearby places. It is managed by Historic Environment Scotland, which describes the site in its Statement of Significance as follows:
The monuments at the Heart of Neolithic Orkney and Skara Brae show the achievements of early people in remote areas. These sites were built around the same time as early Egyptian tombs, ancient temples in Sumeria, and the first cities in the Harappa culture of India. They were also built about 100 to 200 years before the Golden Age of China. These sites are unusually well-preserved for their age and provide strong evidence of early human life. Maeshowe is a remarkable example of Neolithic engineering. It is one of the earliest and most impressive architectural works from this time. Its design is simple yet strong, making it a rare survival from 5,000 years ago. It shows the skill of a group of people whose other tombs were small, tight rooms inside smaller mounds.
Visitor centre
The Maeshowe Heart of Neolithic Orkney Visitor Centre is located in the village of Stenness on Mainland, Orkney. Access to the cairn is only available on guided tours. Visitors begin at the Stenness centre and then travel to the monument as part of scheduled tours organised by Historic Environment Scotland.