A STALLED CHAMBERED CAIRN, KNOW F RAMSAYO E 7 40 . II. A STALLED CHAMBERED CAIRN, THE KNOWE OF RAMSAY, AT HULLION, ROUSAY, ORKNEY. BY J. GRAHAM CALLANDER, LL.D., F.S.A.ScoT., DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL MUSEU F ANTIQUITIEO M F SCOTLANDO S D WALTEAN , . G R GRANT, F.S.A.ScoT. e Proceedings,issuee laso th th tw t f n o sI vols. Ixviii Ixix.d e an . w , gave an account of the excavations of two Neolithic, long, stalled, chambered cairns of the Rousay type, the Midhowe cairn and the Knowe of Yarso. Both of these constructions had an entrance passage at the eastern end leading into a long, narrow, rectangular gallery or chamber, which was divided into small cells or compartments by upright slabs projecting fro e lateramth l wallschambee e MidhowTh th . n i r e cairn was divided into twelve cells, and from the Neolithic level were re- covered remain f twenty-fivo s e human skeletons a smal, l numbef o r animal bones, fragment f seveo s n clay a solitarurns d an , y flint imple- ment a well-mad, e knifee KnowTh .f Yarseo d onloha y three cells, but it produced, also from the Neolithic deposit, fragments of twenty- nine human skeletons, a large quantity of animal bones, almost entirely representing red-deer bonw fe e a ,tools d sixty-ninan , e implements worked an d piece Neolithiflintf o o sN . c potterw fe found s a ywa t bu , fragments of a Bronze Age food-vessel and two other pieces of pottery e relith cf cam o bed doubo p en ; to fro e t mth thes beed eha n intruded tima t a e later tha primare nth y burials. In June last (1935) we excavated a third cairn of the same class, the Knowe of Ramsay. This monument is built about 12 yards from the southern edge of a narrow shelf or terrace,1 some 50 yards wide, on the lower south-western slope of Blotchnie Fiolcl, at an elevation of about 200 feet above sea-level, barely a quarter of a mile east of the post-office at the hamlet of Hullion. To the south it overlooks Eyn- hallow e islan Sounth f Mainland o d dan d beyond, and, like Knoweth e of Yarso, before it became dilapidated and covered with grass and heather, it must have formed a very prominent feature in the landscape when viewed from the lower ground. The Knowe of Ramsay had been very much plundered to pro- vide stones for building houses in the immediate vicinity, and all that 1 These natural terraces which are to be seen in many parts of Rousay are well illustrated in backgroune th figf . do 1 . 408 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MAY 11, 1936. remaine a lon s g dwa irregula r moun f stonedo s over-grown with grass, measuring 113 fee lengthn i t fee 7 breadthn 2 ,i t fee5 heightn i td an , , wit d peepinha numbe en n o f slabgo rt througse s e surfachth a f o e hollow that ran along the summit. These indicated quite clearly the character of the monument, a stalled cairn. Excavation showed that s destructioit d beeha nn more thorough tha ne Know th tha f f o to e Yarso, which was bad enough. Fig. 1. The Knowe of Ramsay from the south-east. Afte s outlinit r d beeha e n clearee accumulatioth f o d f d soio n an l broken stones with which it was encumbered, the cairn was seen to be an irregular oblong on plan, with the north-west end rounded, and the side south-easd san t end whicentrancn e i , th buriae s hi th o et l chamber, generally straigh s maiIt t n(fig. axi1) . s runs abou magnetic° 40 t west of nort d eas f southhan o t r abouo , t north-wes d south-eastan t e Th . entrance passage leads into a long, narrow chamber divided into fourteen cells by slabs set on end and bonded into the walls on both sides. These upright e placear s linn di e oppositf e o eac w foro ht ro s mothea a o s r stall botn so h chamber e sideth f so , simila thoso t r eMidhowe seeth n ni e Yarsd an o cairns (fig. 2) . Outer Wall.—The e oute th fac f ro e wal s formei l f ordinaro d y dry- stone building, but alreads a , y remarkedverw yno mucs i t i ,h reduced 410 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH 11Y F ,O S MA 1936, . in height. At the south-east end it is only 1 foot 9 inches, which height is maintaine r aboudfo fee0 3 t t alon e north-easth g t side; after this it decreases to about 14 inches until it approaches the north sector, s wherbeeha n t ei entirel y removed e north-westh t A .onld en ty from 8 inches to 15 inches remain. Along the south-western side it rises from 3 feet 3 inches to 4 feet 2 inches, then decreases to 2 feet 4 inches, and as it gets nearer the south-east, end the height is no more than 14 inches. The foundation course does not project outwards beyond the wall face as in the Midhowe and Yarso cairns. There is a re-entrant angle, 6 inches deep, in the wall on the north- eas te cairnflanth fee0 f 3 o k, t fro s south-easmit t endd eastwardan , s from this point ther disturbea s ei d fac f buildino e g extendin abour gfo t 20 feet. The reason for this is not clear, as at a distance of from 6 inches to 9 inches in advance of it is a course of foundation slabs in alignment "wit e otherhth , e outepartth f rso wall t firs A t "wai t. s thought thats a , e othe stalleo th n tw ri d cairn Rousan si y which alread beed yha n exca- vated inne,n a ther s r ewa buil thicknese t o facth n walle n t ei th f bu , so such feature was found in other parts of the cairn, though searched for. Nea e re-entranth r t angle, however a vertica s i , l joint d oppositan , e it on the face of the wall on the south-west flank are indications of another t thesBu e. joints canno tracee b t d throug e buildinhth g into the walls of the chamber. Possibly there may have been a change in the plan after the work of building the cairn had been started. Som feee4 inche9 t s fro e e north-eassouth-easmth th f o d en t side of the cairn is a wall or ramp built against it at right angles, and extending outwards for 7 feet 9 inches. It measures 2 feet 6 inches in breadth, and from a height of 2 feet 9 inches slopes down gradually until it dies out. On the west side, in the angle where it abuts on the main building, ther as ei recess e linteth , f whicinche6 o l1 s hi s above ground-level, measurin inche0 1 g heightn i s inche0 1 , breadthn i s d an , 7 inche n depthi s . Outsid westere eth n sectocaire casina th s f ni o r g wall abou fee1 2 t t in length, 4 feet 9 inches in breadth at the centre, and 2 feet in breadth at its southern end; it is carried round in the opposite direction as far middle north-wese cairne th th th s f a f eo o , int d wale oen tth whicf o l h it gradually merges (fig. 3). Entrance Passage.——The outer jambs of the entrance passage into buriae th l chambe placee ar feer7 inche 5 feed td6 an t s fro northe mth - easd south-easan t t cornere monumentth f o s e passagTh . e measures 6 feet 5 inches and 6 feet 2 inches in length along the north and south foo1 sides inche8 d t an , s in width e wall n botTh o s. h sides where A STALLED CHAMBERED CAIRN, KNOW F RAMSAYO E 1 41 . they ente e chambeth r fee2 inche 4 e inchet w ar r fe sa s higlowed han r at the outer end. The height of the passage cannot be ascertained, as all the stone lintels with which it "would be roofed have been carried off. Burial Chamber.—The total lengte chambes th it f feet8 d ho 8 an s ,i r inner end, whic s formehi a larg y edgb n demeasurind o sla t an e bse g 2 feeinche0 1 t heighfeen 5 si inc 1 td breadthn hi an t , terminate fees8 t inche8 s e outefro th e fac f mth e rnorth-weso e th wal t a l t e end.Th fourteen cells into whic s dividei t i h d increas n widthi e , thougt no h quite regularly, from the entrance towards the inner end, from 3 feet 11 inches to 6 feet 8 inches, and their length, which is not exactly the Pig. 3. Knowe of Ramsay: Casing Wall from south-south-east. sam botn eo h sides, varies fro mfee 3 inche1 1 feet7 inche2 o tst s (fig.