5859 x 4175 px | 49,6 x 35,3 cm | 19,5 x 13,9 inches | 300dpi
Date de la prise de vue:
12 juin 2016
Lieu:
Tomb of the Eagles, Ibister. South Ronaldsay. Orkney Isles Scotland.
Informations supplémentaires:
The Tomb of the Eagles, or Isbister Chambered Cairn, is a Neolithic chambered tomb located on a cliff edge at Isbister on South Ronaldsay in Orkney, Scotland. First explored by Ronald Simison, a farmer, when digging flagstones in 1958, he conducted his own excavations at the site in 1976. Alerted by Simison, archaeologist John Hedges then mounted a full study, prepared a technical report and wrote a popular book that cemented the tomb's name. 16, 000 human bones were found at the site, as well as 725 from birds. These were identified as predominantly belonging to the white-tailed sea eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) and represented between 8 and 20 individuals. These were originally interpreted as a foundation deposit; however, this interpretation has been challenged by new dating techniques. These reveal that the eagles died c. 2450–2050 BCE, up to 1, 000 years after the building of the tomb. This confirms growing evidence from other sites that the neolithic tombs of Orkney remained in use for many generations There, by the flickering light of a cigarette lighter, Ronald Simison saw the 30 human skulls that filled the chamber - his first encounter with the long-dead occupants of the Tomb of the Eagles. However, shortly after this discovery the tomb was sealed up again, pending a thorough archaeological excavation. But this promised excavation was a long time in coming. More than 20 years passed - years in which Mr Simison tried in vain to persuade the authorities to investigate the Isbister tomb. Eventually he gave up and decided to do the job himself.
