Archaeologists have discovered a rare 5,000-year-old tomb containing the articulated remains of 14 individuals at a Neolithic site at Holm on the east coast of Mainland, Orkney. It consists of a stone cairn 49 feet in diameter at the end of 23-foot-long stone passage. Six smaller chambers adjoin the central cairn. This is a “Maes Howe-type” passage grave; only 12 others of this type of tomb are known on Orkney. Built with corbelled stone roofs that narrowed as they rose, Maes Howe tombs are considered the pinnacle of Neolithic engineering in northern Britain.
This masterpiece of prehistoric construction was almost destroyed without a trace. It is flat now, the towering height that once would have dominated the landscape lost to stone thieves in the 18th and 19th centuries. Then in 1896, the son of a local farmer dug around the site, uncovering some remains of walls, a macehead and ball and eight skeletons. The finds were reported in a local paper as the ruins of a “chambered cairn,” but it was a passing reference with no specific location information.
Dr Hugo Anderson-Whymark, senior curator of Neolithic prehistory at the National Museums Scotland, came across the 1896 report and decided to seek out the tomb. A geophysical survey helped pinpoint the possible location of the tomb. A team of local volunteers and students led by Anderson-Whymark and Prof Vicki Cummings of Cardiff University hit paydirt and excavated the tomb in a targeted three-week dig.
Dr Anderson-Whymark said: […]
“It’s incredible to think this once impressive monument was nearly lost without record, but fortunately just enough stonework has survived for us to be able understand the size, form and construction of this tomb.”
Dr Anderson-Whymark said 5,000 years ago, the tomb would have been a prominent feature on the landscape, and likely to have looked similar to Orkney’s Maeshowe chambered cairn.
Prof Cummings said: “The preservation of so many human remains in one part of the monument is amazing, especially since the stone has been mostly robbed for building material.
“It is incredibly rare to find these tomb deposits, even in well-preserved chambered tombs and these remains will enable new insights into all aspects of these peoples’ lives.”
The human remains will be DNA-tested to discover if there are familial relationships between the people buried in the tomb. The tomb appears to have been used over a stretch of time, with bodies placed on top of older ones. Radiocarbon dating may answer how long the tomb was in active use.
Wataalamu wa vitu vya kale wamegundua kaburi lenye umri wa miaka 5,000 lenye mabaki ya watu 14 katika eneo la Neolithic huko Holm, pwani ya mashariki ya Orkney. Mwamba huo una urefu wa mita 49 na umbo la mwamba unaoonekana kwenye sehemu ya mwisho ya njia ya mawe yenye urefu wa mita 23. Vyumba sita vidogo vinazunguka kilima cha katikati. Hii ni <unk>Maes Howe-aina<unk> kaburi la njia; tu 12 wengine wa aina hii ya kaburi wanajulikana katika Orkney. Makaburi ya Maes Howe yalijengwa kwa paa za mawe zilizopunguzwa kwa kadiri yalivyoinuka, na yanaonwa kuwa kilele cha uhandisi wa Neolithic kaskazini mwa Uingereza. Kazi hii bora ya ujenzi wa kabla ya historia iliharibiwa karibu bila kuacha alama yoyote. Sasa ni tambarare, urefu mkubwa ambao wakati mmoja ungekuwa umetawala mandhari iliyopotea kwa wezi wa mawe katika karne ya 18 na 19. Mwaka 1896, mwana wa mkulima wa eneo hilo alichimba karibu na eneo hilo, na kugundua mabaki ya kuta, risasi, mpira, na mifupa minane. Ugunduzi huo uliripotiwa katika gazeti la mahali hapo kuwa magofu ya "mwamba wenye vyumba", lakini ulikuwa marejeo ya kupita bila habari maalum ya eneo. Hugo Anderson-Whimar, mkuu wa kihistoria cha Neolithic katika Jumba la Makumbusho la Kitaifa la Scotland, alikutana na ripoti ya 1896 na kuamua kutafuta kaburi hilo. Uchunguzi wa kijiografia ulisaidia kujua mahali ambapo kaburi hilo lingeweza kuwa. Timu ya kujitolea na wanafunzi wa ndani iliyoongozwa na Anderson-Wymer na Profesa Vicky Cummings wa Chuo Kikuu cha Cardiff walipiga ardhi ya kulipwa na kuchimba kaburi katika uchimbaji wa wiki tatu. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""Ni ajabu kufikiria kwamba ukumbusho huu wa wakati mmoja wenye kuvutia ulikuwa karibu kupotea bila rekodi, lakini kwa bahati nzuri kazi ya mawe imebaki kwa kutosha kwetu kuweza kuelewa ukubwa, fomu na ujenzi wa kaburi hili."" - Anderson Whymark, MD, Mtaalam wa Mausoleum ya Orkney." "Prof Cummings alisema: ""Uhifadhi wa mabaki mengi ya binadamu katika sehemu moja ya mnara ni ya kushangaza, hasa kwa kuwa jiwe hilo limekuwa likinyang'anywa kwa ajili ya vifaa vya ujenzi." "Ni nadra sana kupata mabaki ya makaburi haya, hata katika makaburi yaliyohifadhiwa vizuri na mabaki haya yataruhusu ufahamu mpya katika nyanja zote za maisha ya watu hawa. "" Mabaki ya binadamu yatapimwa kwa DNA kugundua ikiwa kuna uhusiano wa familia kati ya watu waliozikwa katika kaburi hilo." Inaonekana kwamba kaburi hilo lilitumiwa kwa muda mrefu, na miili iliwekwa juu ya miili mingine ya zamani. Kupima tarehe kwa kutumia kaboni ya redio yaweza kujibu muda gani kaburi hilo lilitumiwa.