Tomb of the Eagles

View from Wideford Hill



Wideford Chambered Cairn



Tomb of the Eagles

In 1958, a local farmer, Ronald Simison, was looking for flagstone to build corner posts for a new fence he was putting up. On his way back from the cliffs near his farm he saw a mound with a few stones sticking out so he started removing the grass and to his surprise, he discovered a wall. After a bit of digging he came across a few polished rocks that were likely tools and a button. After further digging he found a chamber which contained skulls.

He reported his finding to the authorities, the tomb was sealed up and he was promised an archaeological excavation. After waiting for 18 years and still no excavation, a loophole in the law deemed that the ownership of the tomb went to Ronald and he decided to excavate the tomb himself.

Previously, a burnt mound was also found on his land and as it was excavated, Ronald took an interest in the excavation and learned how it was done. This gave him the skills necessary to excavate the tomb.

The burnt mound was situated near a bronze age structure that is very interesting. It had a large water trough in the centre and rocks were heated in the hearth and then placed into the trough to heat the water. There was also incoming water that went into another trough while wastewater exited through the stone wall. The refuse and burnt rocks were all tossed outside; thus, the burnt mound. There is no way of knowing what the boiling water trough was used for, it could have been used to cook meat or may have had another use.

Back to the tomb, Ronald excavated the tomb and found skulls, bones and interestingly, talons and bones of the white-tailed sea eagle, thus the name, Tomb of the Eagles. Sea eagles are huge birds but are now non-existent in Orkney. They had a wing span of 7.5 feet and liked to dine on new born lambs.

Ronald is now 88 yeas of age and just retired two years ago. The Tomb of the Eagles is still owned by the family and they have an excellent guided presentation where they explain the discovery and excavation of the tomb and the structure next to the burnt mound. They run a laid back operation where they let you touch and hold tools, horn jewellery and talons. Then you head out on your own to explore the burnt mound and the tomb. They have a four wheeled dolly and a rope to gain access to the tomb if you don’t want to crawl down the passageway on your hands and knees, we all opted for the dolly. There is a great walk back to the farm via the cliffs overlooking the sea.





View of the ocean from South Ronaldsay





War Memorial, St. Margaret's Hope, South Ronaldsay

Yeah, I know, but I couldn't help myself.