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Cuween Hill

Fairy Knowe Finstown, Orkney Islands

Large image (418x634 - 51k) The main chamber, looking north.
Large image (635x444 - 74k) The main chamber, looking south. The entrance is at the lower far end of the left wall; the spaces in the facing and right walls lead into subsidiary chanbers.
Large image (641x402 - 86k) Runes carved in Cuween cairn. These are probably fairly recent graffitti rather than genuine Viking runes.
Large image (664x218 - 77k) Enhanced image of the runes.

Looking east from the eastern slope of Cuween Hill is a chambered tomb, sometimes known as the Fairy Knowe.

When the tomb was excavated in 1901, by M.M.Charleson, seven human skulls and twenty-four dog skulls were found within the main chamber and the side chambers. There has been some speculation that the dog was a tribal totem (as with red deer at Holm of Papa Westray North and eagles at Isbister).

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Find Cuween Hill (or the nearest known site) at the Megalithic Portal