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Tomb or burial place · Prehistoric · Orkney Islands

Vinquoy chambered cairn

Open access · About 30 min · Moderate walking

Photo: Colin Park / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0Got a better photo of Vinquoy chambered cairn?

Vinquoy is a restored Stone Age burial monument on Eday, built around a central chamber with four small side-cells and overlooking Calf Sound.

Whoever built this tomb chose the highest point on the island. Vinquoy chambered cairn stands on Vinquoy Hill on the north side of Eday, looking out over Calf Sound, and it can be seen from most of the northern half of the island — which is presumably the point.

It is a Maeshowe-type cairn, meaning a central chamber with small cells opening off it rather than the stalled compartments found in the tombs of Rousay. This one has four side-cells reached from a chamber at the end of a five-metre entrance passage, and the chamber was originally roofed by corbelling, courses of stone stepped inward until they closed.

The cairn is about eighteen metres across and three high, built of red sandstone rather than the grey flagstone used on the Orkney Mainland, and it is partly cut into the hill rather than raised entirely on top of it. That colour makes it look quite unlike the tombs most visitors will have seen elsewhere in Orkney.

It was first opened in 1857, when James Farrer and the landowner Robert Fraser Hebden dug down into the chamber through the top of the mound. That was the standard antiquarian method and among the most destructive available: it removes the stratigraphy that would date the tomb. Hebden had bought his Eday estate in 1850, and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland recorded in 1878 that he made considerable antiquarian researches across the island at his own expense, though little of interest was reported found despite the property abounding in ancient tumuli.

Historic Environment Scotland scheduled the site in 1936. It is open to the public and forms part of the Eday Heritage Trail, which is the reason a small tomb on a remote hill is maintained at all.

What follows is drawn from published sources, with each claim labelled by how firmly it is established.

History

Vinquoy chambered cairn stands on Vinquoy Hill on the north side of Eday in Orkney, on the highest ground on the island, overlooking Calf Sound. It is a Maeshowe-type tomb and probably dates to the early third millennium BC. Height matters for a tomb, and this one is visible from most of the northern half of Eday. It measures about eighteen metres in diameter and three metres high, and it was built of red sandstone — the local rock, which gives the monument a colour quite different from the grey flagstone tombs of the Orkney Mainland. Colour is not a trivial difference when the tomb is the most conspicuous thing on a hillside.

A five-metre entrance passage runs in to a central chamber with four small side-cells opening off it. That plan, a chamber with cells around it, is what defines the Maeshowe type and separates it from the stalled cairns found elsewhere in Orkney. Six spaces inside one small cairn is a great deal of subdivision. The cairn is partly below ground, carved into the hill rather than raised entirely on top of it, and the central chamber originally had a corbelled roof — courses of stone stepped inward until they met. Corbelling is the only roofing technique available to builders without timber long enough to span a chamber.

James Farrer and the landowner Robert Fraser Hebden first excavated it in 1857 by digging into the chamber through the top of the mound, which was the standard antiquarian approach and among the most destructive. Digging in through the roof destroys the stratigraphy that would date the tomb. Hebden had bought his Eday estate in 1850, and according to the journal of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland for 1878 he made considerable antiquarian researches across the island at his own expense — though the property abounded in ancient tumuli, little of interest was reported found.

Historic Environment Scotland scheduled the site in 1936. It is open to the public and forms part of the Eday Heritage Trail. A heritage trail is a modern imposition on a Neolithic monument, and it is also why the cairn is maintained at all.

People

  • James Farrer

    Antiquarian who excavated Vinquoy through the mound’s top in 1857 with landowner Robert Fraser Hebden.

  • Robert Fraser Hebden

    Eday landowner who excavated Vinquoy with James Farrer in 1857 and funded wider antiquarian research on the island.

Cultural influences

  • The red-sandstone Maeshowe-type cairn uses a central chamber with four side-cells and a corbelled roof.

Connections

  • Eday

    Vinquoy stands on Vinquoy Hill on Eday’s highest ground, making the red-sandstone cairn visible across much of the island’s north.

  • Calf Sound

    The tomb overlooks Calf Sound from Vinquoy Hill, a view that explains the prominence of its elevated position.

  • Eday Heritage Trail

    Vinquoy is maintained as a stop on the Eday Heritage Trail and is open to the public as a scheduled monument.

Discovery & excavation

James Farrer and Robert Fraser Hebden excavated the cairn in 1857 by entering through the top of the mound.

What to look for

  • Built on the island's highest point

    The tomb stands on Vinquoy Hill on the north side of Eday, overlooking Calf Sound — the highest ground on the island.

  • Maeshowe design in red sandstone

    It is a Maeshowe-type tomb, 18 metres across and 3 metres high, built of red sandstone, with a 5-metre entrance passage to a central chamber and four side-cells.

  • Cut into the hill

    The cairn is partly below ground, carved into the slope, and the central chamber originally had a corbelled roof.

  • Dug through the top in 1857

    James Farrer and the landowner Robert Fraser Hebden broke into the chamber through the top of the mound in 1857.

Plan your visit

Location
59.2273°N · 2.7725°W
Nearest settlement
Eday
Access
Open access
Terrain
Moderate walking
Time needed
About 30 minutes
Best time
Daylight hours
What survives
The cairn remains a partly sunken red-sandstone mound with its passage, chamber and side-cells on Vinquoy Hill.

Opening & admission

No managed admission arrangement is published; confirm access locally before travelling.

  • The cairn stands on Vinquoy Hill on Eday and is included in the island’s heritage trail. Conditions on the hill can change quickly in poor weather.

Nearby places

The setting

  • Stone rubble and the trig point on Vinquoy Hill above the chambered cairn.

    Photo: Rude Health / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0

  • The hillside and sea view north from Vinquoy Hill towards Calf Sound and Red Head.

    Photo: Colin Park / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0

Questions people ask

Why is Vinquoy chambered cairn significant?
It is a Maeshowe-type tomb built of local red sandstone, which sets it apart in colour from the grey flagstone cairns of the Orkney Mainland, and it occupies the highest ground on Eday.
What should a reader focus on?
The plan inside. A five-metre passage runs to a central chamber with four small side-cells opening off it, which is what distinguishes a Maeshowe-type tomb from the stalled cairns found elsewhere in Orkney.
How certain is the interpretation?
The tomb type and the early third-millennium BC date rest on its architecture. The cairn has been restored, so not everything visible is original fabric.

Sources

  1. Canmore site 3183
  2. Wikipedia: Vinquoy chambered cairn
  3. Wikidata: Q1670559
  4. Historic Environment Scotland scheduled monument SM1410 — Vinquoy Hill, chambered cairn, Eday (accessed 2026-08-03)

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