Scheduled MonumentsScotlandEday Church Hall, chambered cairn 260m WNW of
Neolithic · Chambered cairn

Eday Church Hall, chambered cairn 260m WNW of

Scotland
HES SM1261
Period
Neolithic
Site type
Chambered cairn
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland

Overview

History & significance

Eday Church Hall is a Neolithic chambered cairn situated in Orkney, Scotland, located approximately 260 metres west-north-west of Eday Church. The monument stands on bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone, which comprises conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone deposits laid down during the Middle Devonian period. This geology would have provided the local stone available to Orkney's Neolithic communities for cairn construction around 3500 to 2500 BC.

Chambered cairns of this type served as communal burial monuments, with internal stone-built chambers designed to contain human remains and grave goods over many generations. The Orkney islands contain an exceptionally rich concentration of such monuments, reflecting the sophisticated ceremonial practices and architectural knowledge of Neolithic island communities. The distinctive local building stone—readily quarried from the surrounding landscape—shaped the characteristic appearance of Orkney's chambered cairns and distinguished them from similar monuments in other regions.

The site is protected as a Scheduled Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1261, recognising its archaeological importance and historical significance as evidence of Orkney's Neolithic heritage and the development of monumental architecture in northern Britain.

Eday Church Hall, chambered cairn 260m WNW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1261. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Eday Church Hall, chambered cairn 260m WNW of?

Eday Church Hall is a Neolithic chambered cairn situated in Orkney, Scotland, located approximately 260 metres west-north-west of Eday Church. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1261.

What period does Eday Church Hall, chambered cairn 260m WNW of date from?

Eday Church Hall, chambered cairn 260m WNW of dates from the neolithic period, and is classified as a chambered cairn. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Eday Church Hall, chambered cairn 260m WNW of?

Eday Church Hall, chambered cairn 260m WNW of is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM1261.

What other scheduled monuments are near Eday Church Hall, chambered cairn 260m WNW of?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Sandhill, chambered cairn 300m W of, Eday (0.5 km), Burn of Mussetter,standing stone on E side of (0.6 km), Sandhill, burnt mound 200m SE of (0.8 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Eday Church Hall, chambered cairn 260m WNW of

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Eday Church Hall, chambered cairn 260m WNW of's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Eday Church Hall, chambered cairn 260m WNW of report
Or see a real report first
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Eday Church Hall, chambered cairn 260m WNW of

Eday Church Hall, chambered cairn 260m WNW of stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.

The wider landscape

Around Eday Church Hall, chambered cairn 260m WNW of

Ring of BrodgarArchaeological site · ~20.7 milesSkara BraeArchaeological site · ~22.4 miles