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Unstan Chambered Cairn, a grassy mound with its low entrance and an information board, the loch beyond.
Orkney

Unstan Cairn

A 5,000-year-old chambered tomb by the Loch of Stenness, where you crawl in to see its stalls; free, any time.

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Welcome

Unstan Chambered Cairn stands on the shore of the Loch of Stenness, a green mound on the road between Stenness and Stromness, and it is a communal tomb built about 5,000 years ago.

Orkney has two main kinds of Neolithic tomb: stalled cairns, long chambers divided into stalls by upright slabs, and the Maeshowe type, a tall chamber with small cells off it. Unstan has something of both.

A low, narrow passage from the east, more crawl than walk, leads into a rectangular chamber split into five stalls by upright stones, and from the central stall a small side cell opens off, unlike most stalled cairns. When it was dug in the 1800s, human bones were found piled in all five stalls, with two crouched skeletons in the side cell, perhaps the last burials here. The diggers also found leaf-shaped arrowheads, a fine flint tool and a set of pottery bowls, all of one design, that gave their name to Unstan Ware. It is free and open all year; the road is not suitable for coaches.

A short drive awayNess of BrodgarThe Neolithic complex between the lochs, now covered over again.5 min by roadSee itNess of Brodgar
Before you go

Free and open all year.

On the Mainland by the Loch of Stenness, off the road between Stenness and Stromness; the road is not suitable for coaches.

Getting there
By the Loch of Stenness, west Mainland.
Open
All year; free.
Inside
A low passage; a crawl.
Where it is

Unstan, near Stromness, KW16 3JX.

Close byBy the Loch of Stenness.
  1. Standing Stones of StennessStanding Stones of StennessFour great stones of perhaps the oldest henge in the British Isles, raised about 5,000 years ago by the Loch of Stenness; free.2 miles5 min by road
  2. Maeshowe, a great grassy mound in green fields under a grey sky.Maeshowe Chambered CairnThe finest Neolithic tomb in north-west Europe, lit by the midwinter sun and scratched with Viking runes; by guided tour.3 miles5 min by road
  3. Ring of BrodgarRing of BrodgarA great Neolithic stone circle on a strip of land between two lochs, at the centre of Neolithic Orkney; free, any time.3 miles6 min by road
  4. A white gallery at the Pier Arts Centre, framed paintings along the walls.Pier Arts CentreA free gallery on a pier in Stromness, with Margaret Gardiner's collection of Hepworth, Nicholson and Wallis.3 miles6 min by road
  5. The layered sandstone cliffs of Yesnaby dropping into a calm dark sea, lit by low sun.YesnabyWild cliffs on the west coast of the Orkney Mainland, with a clifftop walk to the arched sea stack of Yesnaby Castle.6 miles15 min by road
Directions
AttractionsNess of Brodgar2.7 miles
Fursbreck Pottery, a stone cottage with a red-edged roof and a garden of pots and benches, Harray.AttractionsThe Harray Potter6.5 miles
The grassy mounds and stone houses of Skara Brae in low evening sun, the sea behind.AttractionsSkara Brae7.5 miles
Musicians play fiddles and double bass on a ship's wooden deckAttractionsOrkney Festivals11 miles
Green aurora swirling across a starry sky above a snow-covered peakAttractionsThe Aurora Borealis in Orkney11 miles
AttractionsKirbuster Farm Museum12 miles
The Foveran's dining room, tartan chairs at laid tables and big windows onto the fields and Scapa Flow.RestaurantsThe Foveran13 miles
Scones in wire baskets under an Orkney Tea board in the Birsay Bay Tearoom, tables behind.CafeBirsay Bay Tearoom14 miles
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