Tomb of the Eagles

The Isbister Cairn (also called Tomb of the Eagle ) is a megalithic site on South Ronaldsay, an island of Orkney, which belongs to Scotland. Isbister cairn was built by the farmer Ronald Simison (born 1922) discovered in 1958 and excavated in 1976. Simison was awarded the 2008 " MBE award".

The discovery

Simison came across a nearby on the cliff, overgrown with grass hill on the top of a wall. When you dig, he found three axes, a polished bulbous head, a flat oval like a knife shaped piece of limestone, and a round button. The excavation of the Cairns showed that this precious little depot was located on the pedestal at the base of the outer wall.

The excavation

Despite the interest that had aroused the discovery among archaeologists went by lack of money years without a professional excavation of the site. In the 1970s, Ronald Simison conducted the excavation itself, after he had watched the professional excavation of Liddle Burnt Mound, a Ancient cooking place on his land, by John W. Hedges.

The plant

How Unstan Cairn as well Isbister is an architectural hybrid. The investments represent a transitional type between the older Stalled Cairns and the younger passage tombs of Maes Howe type represents the chamber is divided both by upright slabs into five compartments and in addition has but two ( instead of one ) end chambers and three of the main chamber of accessible side chambers that point as well as the lateral access to the Maes Howe type. The end chambers are separated from the central part as in Unstan Cairn means of threshold stones. The two side cells on the west side of the chamber were intact and are about 90 cm high. The chamber was originally covered by a corbelled and an oval cairn. The main chamber had been filled with earth and stones, when the grave was closed, while the cells were unfilled.

Finds inside

The two intact cells contained mainly human skull. On the ground especially along the walls of the main chamber were a lot of human bones. They gave the impression to have been deposited in small clusters, each containing a skull. The analysis showed, however, that the pile of parts from several individuals existed. Overall, there were the remains of about 338 people. There were also found in the fill of the chamber bone. They were among at least eleven people. Along with the bone claws were found by at least eight eagles and some other birds. However, this does not represent an isolated case, because in other systems dog skulls animal bones or fish bones were found. The eagle had symbolic significance to the Islands to Pictish times. He finds himself in stone carved on the Brough of Birsay and the Knowe of Burrian.

The examination of the skull revealed that some, usually the female, a significantly increased attachment of neck muscles on the back of the skull showed. The findings were interpreted to mean that the individuals who carried loads on their backs, supporting by a band over the head. Elizabeth J. Glenn found the skull compared with other skulls of the British Neolithic and Bronze Age that women had significantly smaller heads than men. According to Chesterman each occipital condyle usually has a facet and the occurrence of two facets on one or both sides is very unusual. In a study of 585 skulls from different countries and epochs, only five ( less than 1 %) had this anomaly. In contrast, at 30 occipital condyles of Isbister two facets and a skull showed even a triple facet. Thus, the Isbister skull found in more than one third of this rare anatomical configuration.

The Museum

The approximately 90 - year-old farmer Ronald Simison operates with his daughter a small museum at the farm where he exhibits finds from Isbister cairn and accompanied visitors to Liddle and Isbister. On Cairn he has a cable-drawn trolley installed the visitor enters lying on the through the narrow access to the chamber.

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