Unival Neolithic chambered tomb, North Uist, Scotland, UK, looking W over peat moor, Loch Fada & other lochans to the coast by Kirkibost Island.
Unival Neolithic chambered tomb, North Uist, Scotland, UK, looking W over peat moor, Loch Fada & other lochans to the coast by Kirkibost Island. A Hebridean square cairn measuring 16m on each side. The cairn is retained by a peristalith of upright slabs & drystone walling which form an impressive entrance facade on the E (L) side. A short passage leads from the centre of the facade to an oval burial chamber. A cist built in its SW corner contained the upper torso of a woman over 25 & the ribs of a person under 21. The bones were charred but not cremated suggesting hot charcoal was thrown over the decomposing bodies. Bones were pulled out of the cist & scattered around the chamber walls to make room for each new occupant. The tall stone centre rear stands some 7m outside the cairn's SW corner. Immediately N (R) of the burial chamber are the remains of an Iron Age house built in the NW corner of the cairn; its inhabitants used the choked & ruined chamber as a cooking pit. The site was excavated by Sir Lindsay Scott in 1935 & 1939: flints, quartz, a stone ball & numerous potsherds were found.
Size: 3806px × 2682px
Location: Unival Chambered Cairn, Kirkibost, North Uist, Western Isles, Scotland, UK
Photo credit: © Mick Sharp / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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