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Helliar Holm is a Neolithic chambered cairn situated in Orkney, Scotland. Built during the third millennium BCE, it belongs to the tradition of communal burial monuments that characterise the archipelago's prehistoric settlement. The cairn was constructed from stone quarried locally from the Middle Devonian sandstone bedrock that underlies the site, a red and brown stone interspersed with bands of siltstone and marl that has weathered to define Orkney's distinctive landscape.
Chambered cairns served as repositories for the dead and likely functioned as territorial and genealogical markers within early agricultural communities. Helliar Holm's construction reflects the investment of labour required to gather, shape and pile substantial quantities of stone into a mound, with internal chambers arranged to facilitate repeated ritual interment. The monument's placement and form would have rendered it visually prominent within its local terrain.
The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the reference SM1275, recognising its archaeological significance and the insights it offers into Neolithic mortuary practice, settlement patterns and the relationship between early communities and their island environment. As one of Orkney's substantial number of surviving chambered cairns, Helliar Holm contributes to the comprehensive archaeological record that makes the islands an exceptional window into prehistoric northern Britain.
Helliar Holm,chambered cairn is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1275. View the official record →
Helliar Holm is a Neolithic chambered cairn situated in Orkney, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1275.
Helliar Holm,chambered cairn 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.
Helliar Holm,chambered cairn 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 SM1275.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Head of Work,long cairn (1.5 km), Car Ness Battery,Car Ness (1.8 km), Hillock of Howe,broch (2.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Helliar Holm,chambered cairn's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Helliar Holm,chambered cairn stands on Middle Devonian sandstone, bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is major:{sandstone}, Minor{siltstone,marl}.