If the island's Viking saga, The Orkneyinga can be believed, they spent three drunken days trapped inside the tomb getting up to no good. This may explain why, unlike other chambered burial mounds that have been found in Northern Europe, the roof of Maeshowe had collapsed and had to be rebuilt.
It certainly goes some way to explain why Europe's largest collection of runic carvings, 30 in all, are incised on the walls of Maeshowe. According to our guide, a storyteller from Dragon History, like modern graffitti, many of the runes are suggestive; they slag off women of loose morals or boast of sexual conquests. Most of those that can be shared with a family audience, give the impression of having been inscribed by a crowd of boastful, Viking party animals.
One, composed of artistic twig runes, says, "These runes were carved by the man who is the best carver of runes in the Western Oceans."
Another, carved about 12 feet above the floor (imagine one Viking sitting on another's shoulders perhaps), says, "Tholfir Kolbeinsson carved these runes very high up."
The dragon, on top of the runes in the composite picture, above, dates from about the same period and is one of Orkney's familiar symbols.
