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II. A NEOLITHIC DOUBLE-CHAMBERED CAIRN OF THE STALLED TYPE AND LATER STRUCTURES ON THE CALF OF EDAY, ORKNEY CHARLEY B . CALDERT . SS , A.R.I.A.S., F.S.A.ScoT. The Calf of Eday in the Orkneys is a small uninhabited island separated fro e maimth n islan e water f Edayth do y f Calb o s f Sound. Near Caithnes ss souther Geoit n o s n sidgroua s ei sevef po n prehistoric monumentse yard0 lyinth f 25 g of so t fro 0 m5 shore (fig. 1). Three of them are marked on the O.S .s "Era Map s o a d tw ,e Hoxiseson d an " "Standing Stones," but recent investigation has proved that eace representon h a Stons e Ag e chambered cairn. The largest of these, whose © SITE F O . true characte s previouslwa r y unknowd an n I«ON AGl which coul e identifieb d de standin th onl y yb g STRUCTURE CHAMBERED stones s connectei , e otheth f dro wit struco htw - CAIRN tures by a later wall. Together they constitute the most northerly and most prominent members soo rf.tr e grouoth f p (fig . Writin.2) e yeath rn g i 185 5 H————I————I Farrer recorded this particular comple sita s exa Fig . Cal1 . Edayf o f : having standing stones within the line o Monumentsf fo p anMa y Ke . "Ancient Rampart of stones and earth some- what resemblin e letteformn i th g d havin S e ran "th t eaca gd en h "foundation-stone towers.f o s " 1 1 Proc. Soc. Ani. Scot., vol. ii. p. 166. 116 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, JANUARY 11, 1937. THE WALL (1). Little chang s takeha e n place since then t whabu , t Farrer calla s rampar s mereli t a ygrass-covere d stony ridge e debriformeth y sb d of a drystone wall. It is so ruinous that the original thickness is not ascertainable e sprea th fee6 t s tdi bu ,wide . Ther e e traceth ar e n o s surface suggesting thae lineth t , whic s definiti h a lengt5 8 r f fo eo h yards s extendeha , d southward e shoreth o t s. Wit e exceptiohth f o n a short length at each of the ends, which return in opposite directions, walthe l runs north-eas south-wesand t northerThe t (fign2). extremity curve a semi-circl n i s e aroun e south-westerth d n a shallo half o f w '• STONY ^ AREA C5T.CALDE.R "^^__'X Pig . CalfofEday2 . : Pla Walf nAssociateo d an l d Structures. depression, roughl fee 0 diameteryn 2 i t , before losing itsela dilapi n i f - dated stony moundcoursits walIn the e. l surmount othetwo s r mounds, these being presumably the "towers" referred to by Farrer. Its association with the mounds is the principal reason for the inclusio wale th thin i lf no s account moritselfo n i n ridge , f eo th as , s ei importanc edikd tha ol e remain y nth whic an f t o resembleshsi e Th . wal s certainli l y later tha e moundnth s which were already heapf o s ruins when it was built, and its relation to them is purely incidental. E CAIRTH N (2). Toward e ridg ereco th e souther f tw th eso t d slabsen n ,d SS2an t (fig stoo, 3) . d paralle eaco lt h othe feer5 inche6 t s apart juse on ,t breaking e othee surfacth th d r risin an ea heigh fee2 o gt inche6 f to t s above ; it both, however, were reduce weatheringy b d . From their position and general appearance it was felt that they did not fit into the categor f Standino y g Stone o whict s h thed beeha yn assigned. This A NEOLITHIC DOUBLE-CHAMBERED CAIRN. 117 DATUM :±^fc* SEQUENC ^2I F ^ 5O E CONSTRUCTION BEa8888$^] PLAN O 5 IO 15 2O 25 3O 35 4OFEET I I I I I I I I I | I I I I I I I I l|l II I I I I I I | I I I I I I I I I | C.S.T.CALDER Fig. S. Stalled Cairn, Calf of Eday: Plan and Sections. 8 PROCEEDING11 E SOCIETYTH F O S , JANUAR , 1937Y11 . idea led to a trial investigation which confirmed the view that they belonge structura o dt e underneath, from whose walls they projectes a d partitions. Subsequent excavations disclose e existencdth longa f eo , neolithic, chambered e stallecairth f o nd variet e lay-ouyth , (fig f whic3) o .t h was identical in many respects with the Rousay cairns that have recently been placed on record by Mr Walter G. Grant and Dr J. Graham Callander. In addition to four of the type excavated in Rousay, four others are1 supposed to exist there, but the cairn now being described firse isth t exampl examinee b o et d outside that islan recenn di t times. Eighty-two years ago, what seem o havt s e bee e stallena cairth f no d type was excavated in the Holm of Papa Westray.2 Our monument, however, is distinguished in its internal arrangement from the Rousay group by the occurrence of a most unusual combination of o differentltw y designed , lyinchambersB n juxtapositioni d g an A , ; one is long and high and the other round and low, but both contain stall-like compartments. a singlWhethe t no e r chambeo r r was contemplated originally is a point that cannot be answered satisfactorily s certaii t i nt bu thae ,complete th t d design allowed for the incorporation of both. This is made clear by a glance at e finisheth d outline, wher e sweeth e f eaco p h side wall a run n i s sweet unbroke e othee cairth th n o r f t n o curv wit d heen froe mon an obvious allowance for the presence of -the second chamber. This contention is further strengthened by the fact that no outer wall s beeha n buil s para f teithe o t r chambee linf th contaco e n o r t between them Othe• . r cairns containin r moro o e tw gchamber e ar s t unknownno thin i st casebu , , -wher o distinctw e t type f chambero s s can be assigned to the same period, the chronological value of such a relationship is important. Three successive stage f operationo s e apparentar s t whatevebu , r lengt timf ho e elapsed betwee t lonno n g s them,enougwa t i o brint h g the last stage beyond the limit of the late Stone Age in Scotland. The lon e gfirs th chamber te builts b par wa o t , ;t A chambe, , whicB r h abutted agains s e massivbacit tth e next kd th walls ean ; outewa , r wall encasing both chambers was the last. The addition of the latter create e double-walth d l feature whic s beeha h n observen i d e Rousath y n othei cairn d r an stype s elsewhere e inneTh .r -walf o l chambe , measurinA r g fro m4 fee o 3te t sideJd th thic an t s a k 1 Proc. Soc. Ant. Scot., vol. Ixviii. pp. 320-50; vol. Ixix. pp. 325-51; vol. Ixx. p. 407; another cairn of the type (Blackhammer, Rousay) will be recorded later in this volume. 2 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 62. A NEOLITHIC DOUBLE-CHAMBERED CAIRN. 119 about 1 foot more at the inner end, was built of drystone masonry faced on both sides with horizontal courses of rubble. That of B, which was mainly 4 feet thick, was of similar construction but of inferior workmanship. This was most noticeable in the facing of the passage and in the very rough rubble of the outside face where s exposed wa e positio t e outei Th th . f re o ninne th face f ro s walls wa s though verifiewa s a t dr necessaryfa onl o s y e partth , s which wer t examineno e d being assume d indicate a e an plad th y b nn o d Mg. 4. Stalled Cairn, Calf of Eday: south-east corner of Outer Wall. broken line. What remaine e outeth f ro d casing wall varien i d thickness fro e mwesterth fee0 about e 1 sidea tth n o fee7 t st a t end. t I showe d well-built horizontal stonewor e facth e n withouo k t any projecting footings (fig. 4). The stones of the lowest course appeared to have been selected for their larger size and squareness e anquointh d s seeme o havt d e been finely adjuste o e suit dth t convexit e sided th ends t an somf sA o y. e place a battes r was evident, but at others the wall-face was vertical, a circumstance whice north o a pointhrustth t t hn e a ,O t migh du .almos e b t n i t line with the outside of the back •wall of chamber A, a slight change in the character of the masonry was noticed. The stonework, however s welwa ,l e facbondeth e d showean d o morn d e signf o s 120 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , JANUARY 11, 1937.