Maeshowe is one of Europe’s most accomplished Neolithic chambered tombs and a central monument in Orkney’s prehistoric landscape. Built around 2800 BCE, its grass-covered mound conceals a carefully constructed chamber reached through a long, low passage. Massive fitted stones, side cells and corbelled masonry reveal builders capable of organising labour and manipulating light, space and stone on a remarkable scale.
The monument forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage property Heart of Neolithic Orkney, alongside the Stones of Stenness, Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae. Its significance also reaches into the medieval period. Norse visitors broke into the tomb in the twelfth century and carved an extensive collection of runic inscriptions inside. Their names, boasts and brief messages are historical evidence, not modern decoration.
