Maeshowe and Viking Graffiti

Leaving Skara Brae we do a much better job of navigating our way to Maeshowe.  Nearing our destination, we navigate a strip of land between Loch Harray and Loch Stenness which contains two significant neolithic henges, The Ring of Brodgar and The Standing Stones of Stenness.  On the left we see the Ring of Brodgar, thought to date from 2500 to 2000 BC and containing 27 stones each measuring between 7 and 15 feet in height.

The Ring of Brodgar, Orkney, Scotland

 About a mile down the road on our left we see The Standing Stones of Stenness having fewer stones but much larger ones standing up to 19 feet high.  This henge sight is thought to date from 3100 BC.   All of the sights we are seeing today are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/514

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/brodgar/index.html

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/standingstones/

Standing Stones of Stenness, Orkney, Scotland

We arrive at Maeshowe, an impressive neolithic burial chamber, one of the best preserved in Europe.  The site stages small group tours at an old mill converted to a gift shop across the road where we wait our turn.  Resembling no more than a large hillock from the path, it would be easy to overlook.


http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/maeshowe/chamber.htm

Path to Maeshowe, Orkney, Scotland

Entrance to Maeshowe, Orkney, Scotland

Access to the cairn is through a long low passageway and then the space opens up into a large chamber made up of many slabs of immense stone.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside but I found a picture of a postcard on the internet that shows the impressive interior.

Interior and main passageway Maeshowe, Orkney, Scotland

The only artifacts that were ever found at Maeshowe were some human skull fragments and horse bones according to our tour guide.  Norsemen sought shelter here during the 11th and 12th century and they no doubt cleared the tomb of it's contents.  One things for certain, they left behind a lot of graffiti on the carefully placed stones, in fact, this sight has one of the largest and most impressive collections of Runic inscriptions in Europe.  If you can read the Runic alphabet, you have no problem reading the inscriptions, but since none of us are experts in 12th century Nordic languages she gives us a hand with some of the translations.  They basically say things like -- "Thor was here" and "Thor is the best!"  Some of the inscriptions refer to women and are downright bawdy, much like something you would find on a bathroom wall.  Some things don't change much even after 1000 years.....  More information about the Viking graffiti is provideded in the link below.

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/maeshowe/maeshrunes.htm