Tomb of the Eagles

The Tomb of the Eagles offers something unique among Orkney's prehistoric sites: the chance to handle 5,000-year-old artifacts and enter a Neolithic tomb in an experience guided by the family who discovered it. Farmer Ronnie Simison found the site in 1958, and his family has maintained it as an independent visitor attraction that emphasizes personal connection over professional distance.

The chambered cairn takes its name from the sea eagle talons found among the human remains interred here—the eagles perhaps serving as totems for the community who built the tomb. Visitors enter by lying on a trolley and pulling themselves along ropes into the burial chamber, an unforgettable method of access that creates an intimate encounter with the ancient past impossible at more formally managed sites.

The dramatic clifftop location adds natural grandeur to the archaeological interest. The visitor center displays artifacts you can actually touch—stone axes, bone tools, pottery sherds—while the Simison family's knowledge and enthusiasm bring the site alive. The Tomb of the Eagles demonstrates that world-class archaeology need not mean hands-off sterility, offering an authentically engaging experience at Orkney's southern tip.