Neolithic Burials Excavated in Orkney Tomb

ORKNEY, SCOTLAND—According to a report in The Guardian, a 5,000-year-old circular tomb consisting of a main, rectangular chamber surrounded by six rooms with curved backs is being excavated on Orkney’s main island by a team of researchers led by Hugo Anderson-Whymark of National Museums Scotland and Vicki Cummings of Cardiff University. The structure, which measured about 50 feet in diameter, had a corbelled roof and was accessed with a passage measuring about 20 feet long. “The tomb would have been an immense feature in the landscape when it was originally constructed, and the stonework inside would have been very impressive,” Anderson-Whymark said. The team members also found 14 skeletons of men, women, and children in one of the rooms. DNA analysis could offer clues to any relationships between the individuals who were buried there, and perhaps links to individuals buried in other Orkney tombs. “It is incredibly rare to find these tomb deposits, even in well-preserved chambered tombs, and these remains will enable new insights into all aspects of these people’s lives,” Anderson-Whymark said. To read about a 4,800-year-old passage tomb on Orkney, go to "Around the World: Scotland."