Case file · Folklore / legend
The Dwarfie Stane
A huge block of sandstone on Hoy in Orkney hollowed into a tomb about 5,000 years ago; islanders said it was the home of a dwarf or giant, and Walter Scott used the legend in 'The Pirate'.
1814 CE · 58.88, -3.30 · status: legend
The account
It is the only rock-cut tomb of its kind in Britain. Visitors including Scott in 1814 saw it, and the lore of the trow or dwarf Trolld lived in it. A Victorian officer carved his name in reverse Persian script on its side.
The sceptical view
A Neolithic chambered tomb; the dwarf story explains a strange monument.