... Nice views of one of Orkney’s Prehistoric Wonders... Maeshowe, a monumental chambered tomb, is the finest Neolithic building to survive in western Europe... a masterpiece of Neolithic design and construction, not least because of its use of massive stones... after duck-walking through a low ceiling passageway, visitors enter a large neolithic tomb site... perhaps one of Maeshowe's most famous attributes is its midwinter alignment... for a few days each year, as the midwinter sun slips below the horizon, its last rays shine directly through Maeshowe's entrance passage to illuminate the rear wall of the central chamber... a "must see" site when staying on Orkney... Big Thanks Andrene!(✿ ♥‿♥)... It also rained here non stop for weeks and the amount of rain we have had lately is pretty crazy!🌧️☔🌧️
© Charles Tait, Kelton, St OLa, Orkney
Maeshowe was built on a natural hillock, only slightly higher than the surrounding land located in the parish of Stenness, in Orkney’s West Mainland.
It was built around 2,800 BC (around 300 years earlier than the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt). The burial mound itself measures approximately 37m in diameter by 7.4m high, with an entrance passage of 14,5m. It is is made up of a large central chamber, with three side chambers built into the walls.
This site was looted by Vikings in the 12thC. The several runic inscriptions on the walls of the chamber represent the largest single collection of such carvings in the world.
Maeshowe is part of the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney", a group of sites including
Skara Brae, which were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
Stamp:
Definitives - King Charles III
(Issued 04-04-2023)
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