A visit to Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn

You may not believe me when I write that I stumbled upon Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn by accident.

Five human skulls were discovered scattered throughout the cairn, as well as something far more unexpected: the skulls of 24 dogs, roughly the size of large collies, placed inside more than 500 years after the cairn was built.

When commuting from Kirkwall to Stromness along the busy A965, a hillside on the approach to Finstown often catches my eye. From a distance, I could see what looked like standing stones or some other pillar-like formations on top of the hill. I like to think my knowledge of Orkney sites is pretty good, yet I couldn’t think of what these mysterious structures could be!

The sight has intrigued me for long enough, and having driven past it countless times, I decided that I would finally make the effort to stop by and satisfy my curiosity.

From the A965 heading through Finstown, I turned onto the Old Finstown Road and followed it for half a mile until a gravel road appeared on the righthand side, signposted for ‘Cuween Hill Tomb’. I’d heard of the Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn before and always intended to visit but I had never realised that it was tucked away up here.

There is a small area near the junction where you can park, but I continued slowly along the (very!) bumpy road to the main car park – though ‘main’ is generous, as it only has enough space for about three or four cars.

Before even leaving the car park, I was surprised to learn on an information board that the Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn was built into this hillside more than 5,000 years ago.

This means that it was constructed around the same time as other Neolithic communities built and lived in the Skara Brae village at Sandwick as well as the famous Maeshowe Chambered Cairn at Stenness, yet far fewer people seem aware of this equally remarkable site.

I set off along a rough path that twisted its way up the hillside for around 300 yards. It’s somewhat steep but thankfully short, only taking about five minutes to reach the cairn which sits 82 metres (269 feet) above sea level, just below the summit of the hill.

Cuween appears as a small, inconspicuous grass-covered mound protruding slightly from the dark-heather hillside, disguising the ancient structure hidden beneath. If you didn’t know it was here, you’d easily be forgiven for missing it!

A fenced area surrounds the cairn to keep animals out, so you need to climb over a wooden ladder-stile to reach the entrance. When I visited, the grass covering Cuween was long and overgrown, further obscuring the mound into the landscape.

The only way in is through the original entrance passage: a low five-metre tunnel not even a metre high. At 5’3, I just about managed to crouch and shuffle my way along without going onto my hands and knees, but anyone taller may need to crawl! Once you reach the main central chamber, the walls rise over two metres allowing you to stand comfortably.

The first and most obvious thing I realised once inside was just how dark it was. It was pitch black except from a faint glow creeping in from the entrance tunnel. A torch is provided in a small box outside of the cairn, but it was out of charge on the day I visited, so I relied on the torch on my phone.

Many other cairns around Orkney, such as Blackhammer on Rousay or Unstan just six miles west of Cuween, have modern skylights installed to help visitors easily explore their interiors. Cuween, however, does not. The roof of its main chamber was replaced with large stone slabs after curious explorers broke through the top in 1888 – an incident that prompted antiquary James Cursiter to carry out the first archaeological exploration of the site soon after.

Those who have visited often describe Cuween as being more rewarding than well-known sites like Maeshowe, and I understand why. The pure darkness inside makes the experience feel truly authentic – just as though you’re stepping directly into the world of the people who used this tomb thousands of years ago.

Cuween is a Maeshowe-style cairn: it has a large central chamber roughly 3.6 metres long and 1.7 metres wide, with four side-cells branching off from each wall. One is a double cell, and another still retains its original Neolithic roof. The entrances to these side cells are also raised slightly from the chamber floor, also as observed in Maeshowe.

The stonework inside is of excellent quality. The walls of the main chamber were carefully built in neat, deliberate layers using long, thin stone slabs that gradually curve inward as they rise.

In July 1901, thirteen years after Cursiter’s initial exploration, lawyer Malcolm Charleson conducted a more thorough excavation of Cuween. He uncovered five human skulls scattered throughout the cairn – three of which reportedly ‘crumbled away when touched’.

He also found something far more unexpected: the skulls of 24 dogs, roughly the size of large collies, placed inside more than 500 years after the cairn was built. Their presence suggests a symbolic importance, much like the sea eagles found at the Tomb of the Eagles on South Ronaldsay. Below Cuween, traces of several Neolithic houses were excavated at a settlement known as Stonehall. Its residents may have built and used the cairn, and perhaps they kept and trained these dogs for use as pets, guards or for working animals.

Stepping back into daylight, I wandered up to the summit of the hill to investigate the mysterious structures that originally attracted me here. I learned that over the years, visitors have built about a dozen or so of these modern ‘cairns’, carefully balancing stones into pillars and small structures.

The view from the top is lovely, stretching from Finstown below across the Bay of Firth and over to Wideford Hill. In the bay, you’ll spot two small isles – the Holm of Grimbister and, further out, Damsay – the latter of which features in the Orkneyinga Saga, as an information board beside the car park explains.

My visit to the Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn didn’t take long – maybe 30 minutes in total – and I had the place entirely to myself, aside from a handful of sheep on the hillside and a herd of cattle watching me from the car park. The solitude is what I enjoyed most. Cuween feels wonderfully untouched as though it has been frozen in time. There is no ticket booth, no crowds and no rush – it is simply a quiet piece of history waiting to be discovered.

By Amy Leith
Born and raised in Aberdeen with an admiration for Orkney and Shetland, loves to travel and visit new places, enjoys cooking, always listening to music, spends a little too much time on TikTok.

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