Knowe of Yarso Chambered Cairn, Rousay, Orkney

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The Knowe of Yarso is a stalled chambered cairn on the island of Rousay, Orkney. It belongs to a classification of drystone monument known as ‘Orkney-Cromarty’ cairns, used for communal burial in the Neolithic period.

Its central chamber is divided into stalls or compartments by three pairs of upright stone slabs, and accessed by an entrance passage at one end. This is enclosed by a rectangular cairn with diagonally-sloping outer stonework. It occupies a prominent position on the edge of a natural terrace on the south side of the island, some 100m above sea level.

Excavated by Callander and Grant in 1934, the chamber contained the remains of over 29 people and 36 red deer, plus stone tools, pottery sherds and arrowheads. It was capped by a modern concrete dome in 1938.

The site is in the care of HES. It’s open to the public and free to visit. For information on visiting, see our website. Discover more history of Knowe of Yarso in the HES Archives.