Dwarfie Stane

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Dwarfie Stane is a 3-5,000 year old megalithic tomb carved out of a titanic stone block of red sandstone located in a glacial valley on Hoy island in Scotland.

A stone slab originally blocked the entrance to the tomb on its west side, but now lies on the ground in front of it. The tomb consists of an entrance passage with a chamber set into the north and south walls, one of which has a 'pillow' like carving shaped onto it.

It is unique in northern Europe, bearing similarity to Neolithic or Bronze Age tombs around the Mediterranean.

The dimensions of the stone are 8.5m long (28 feet), by 4-5m wide and 1-2m high depending on the location where you measure it. The entrance is a 3 foot square cut out of the west side of the rock.

The name is derived from local legends which says the dwarf Trollid lived there.