<< Our Photo Pages >> Skara Brae - Ancient Village or Settlement in Scotland in Orkney

Submitted by Andy B on Tuesday, 07 January 2020  Page Views: 96296

Multi-periodSite Name: Skara Brae
Country: Scotland County: Orkney Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Nearest Town: Stromness  Nearest Village: Sandwick
Map Ref: HY2312518745  Landranger Map Number: 6
Latitude: 59.048748N  Longitude: 3.341718W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 5 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 5 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 4

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I have visited· I would like to visit

SteveC sharipdx church-grim coin whese001 would like to visit

drolaf visited on 15th Jun 2022 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 4

Wazza12 visited on 13th Jul 2021 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5

hidebasket visited on 1st Oct 2019 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5

Catrinm visited on 28th Aug 2019 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Incredible architecture

Suzipam1 visited on 1st Jan 2019 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4 Its illuminating what my ancestors could do. Made me very proud

sba_dk visited on 18th Jul 2018 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4

bishop_pam visited on 19th Apr 2018 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5

RedKite1985 visited on 14th Sep 2016 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5 A truly fascinating location.

wildtalents visited on 15th Jul 2015 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4 Absolutely stunningly preserved settlement, down to the stone dressers, hearths, sleeping quarters . . . a shame one of the houses is sealed off but there's enough to keep you occupied for an hour. It can get very busy though.

TwinFlamesKiss visited on 1st Apr 2014 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5

Jansold visited on 4th Jun 2013 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4

ModernExplorers visited on 5th Mar 2013 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5 Fascinating settlement and well worth a visit to see how our ancestors lived

43559959 visited on 26th Nov 2011 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 4 Access: 4

crystalskull84 visited on 13th Aug 2011 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4

megalithicmatt visited on 1st Jun 2011 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Nice, but the tourist focus and access detracts from the experience.

Richard13 visited on 1st Jul 1999 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5

FrothNinja visited on 1st Nov 1986 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5

Megalithic89 visited on 1st Sep 1986 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5

smparry123 visited - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4

smparry123 visited - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4

crystalskull84 visited - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4

RockHugger visited - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4

Chappers60 visited - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5

Izozo PAB Tonnox Orcinus rrmoser SandyG DrewParsons jeffrep AngieLake TimPrevett Andy B davidmorgan MegalithJunkie NickyD Redfun mrcrow Pallando have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 4.52 Ambience: 4.83 Access: 4.48

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by megalithicmatt : Looking out over Bay of Skaill. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Skara Brae is a large well-preserved stone-built Neolithic village on Orkney that was occupied from roughly 3100-2500 B.C. Until an 1850 storm partially unearthed it, Skara Brae lay under years of soil sediment. It was fully excavated between 1928 and 1930 by the well known archaeologist V. Gordon Childe.

The village consists of ten clustered houses, which were sunk into the ground -- into midden, the decomposition of organic matter, shells, bones, and other matter -- to act as insulation against harsh weather. Intricate passageways connect most of the dwellings with each other.

The typical dwelling contains a large square room containing a large hearth for heating and cooking, ingenious drainage, and a number of stone-built pieces of furniture, including cupboards, dressers, seats, storage boxes, and sleeping areas that would have probably used straw or sheep skins to make it as comfortable as possible.

The remains of Skara Brae that one sees today -- except for two earlier dwellings -- are from the second phase of it occupation, as they sit above an earlier settlement. The second phase took place about half-way through it occupation.

After nearly 600 years of occupation, around 2500 B.C, it appears that the settlement was abandoned. One theory suggests that the weather changed drastically, causing the inhabitants to leave. Another theory claims that it was abandoned because of changes in the nature of Neolithic society from tight-knit communities to a more dispersed one.

Original text by Vicky Morgan

See below for a beautifully made 3D model of a Neolithic House at Skara Brae by Hugo Anderson-Whymark, go to the latest comment on our page to give it a spin and click on his name for many more models from Ness of Brodgar and other sites

Note: Composer Erland Cooper and Poet John Burnside visit some of Orkney's Neolithic sites for BBC Radio 4. And also below in the comments on our page are links to archive photos from V Gordon Childe's dig from the 1920s
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Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by steveco : Skara Brae Neolithic Settlement HY231187. (3 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by 43559959 : The settlement of Skara Brae revealed by the storm of 1850. (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by paulinelen : Hut 1 looking out over the sea - such beautiful colour contrasts creates a fantastic atmosphere. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by paulinelen : Hut 4, the preservation of the huts and furniture is so good you can really begin to feel what it might have been like to live here. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by paulinelen : These are the earlier houses 10 & 11 built slightly differently to the others.

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by 43559959 : Skara Brae house 1

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by paulinelen : Just after a blizzard the sun appears and there is a stunning array of colours.

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by paulinelen : Taken in the sunshine just after a blizzard. I can understand why they used covered walkways and interconnected houses.

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by DrewParsons : September 2010.

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by Energyman : A sketch by Chris Smyth (my wife) 10/5/22 (2 comments)

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by PAB : Tremendously interesting site and setting! June 2016

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by Tonnox : Skara Brae

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by Tonnox

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by DrewParsons : September 2010.

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by Tonnox : Skara Brae

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by 43559959 : Skara Brae House 4

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by enkidu41 : HY 231188 The best-preserved Neolithic settlement in Europe. There 9 smallish huts, averaging 15' across with dressers and beds also made of stone.Hut 5 also has a mural privy with a drain leading from it!

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by PAB : Information board, 'Early Houses' Visited June 2016

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by Orcinus : Skara Brae 29 May 2018

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by Tonnox : Skara Brae

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by Tonnox

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by Tonnox

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by Tonnox

Skara Brae
Skara Brae submitted by DrewParsons : A home right by the coast!! September 2010. (1 comment)

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"Skara Brae" | Login/Create an Account | 34 News and Comments
  
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Two bone dice were found at Skara Brae by Andy B on Sunday, 11 February 2024
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Two bone dice were found at the site of the Neolithic village of Skara Brae in Orkney. They were used sometime between 3100 and 2400 BC. The dice have been decorated with combinations of notches, grooves and dots.

The settlement of Skara Brae was buried in sand, thus preserving buildings to a large height and a range of every-day objects. The inhabitants of Skara Brae used bone and antler for a range of objects including shovels, awls, pins, knives and even beads.
More: nms.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-100-040-457-C
[ Reply to This ]

Possible new Neolithic/BA settlement half a mile from Skara Brae by Runemage on Thursday, 18 March 2021
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Storms were responsible for exposing Skara Brae, now it seems they may have uncovered a wall belonging to another settlement half a mile away.

"possible Neolithic or Bronze Age settlement in the Bay of Skaill area was discovered around half a mile from Skara Brae.

The finds of a badly damaged wall, which had been exposed due to the pounding tides on this stretch of coast, along with deer antlers, a boar tooth, a cattle jawbone and a large decorated stone have led archaeologists to consider whether “another Skara Brae” is waiting to be discovered.

Sigurd Towrie, spokesman for the Archaeology Institute at University of Highlands and Islands, said earlier this month that the finds “suggest there is another settlement at the Bay of Skaill – one that, from previous environmental sampling, is likely to be 4,000 to 5,000 years old”.
https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/mystery-of-prehistoric-skeleton-found-by-farmer-close-to-skara-brae-on-orkney-3140939 Yes, the link is for the skeletin/cist, but the settlement is also mentioned in the same article.
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Skara Brae Intact Skeleton found in sealed cist on nearby farm by Runemage on Thursday, 18 March 2021
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"It is too soon to say whether the remains are those of a man or a woman or if anything else was buried with them.

But the robustness of the cist has left the skeleton virtually intact, with small bones – such as toes – surviving thousands of years.

Martin Cook, director of AOC Archaeology, said: “The size and scale of the cist would suggest it is a late Neolithic or early Bronze Age burial.

"We think the skeleton is buried by itself and not part of a cemetery. It is obviously very close to Skara Brae.”"

more at https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/mystery-of-prehistoric-skeleton-found-by-farmer-close-to-skara-brae-on-orkney-3140939
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Wild Music on BBC R4 with Erland Cooper and John Burnside by Andy B on Tuesday, 07 January 2020
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In 2019 the Scottish poet and writer John Burnside received a CD of Solan Goose by musician and composer Erland Cooper. These "sonic postcards" of Erland's native Orkney are inspired by local dialect, birds, landscapes and the sea. For John Burnside, it reconnected him with nature in a profound way.

The two meet for the first time on Orkney while Erland is working on the final album of his Orkney trilogy. Braving heavy rain and gale-force winds, Erland takes John to locations that inspire his work.

Scattered across the Orkney islands are some of the UK’s best preserved neolithic monuments, designated a UNESCO world heritage site. John feels a direct connection to the stone-age communities who lived here 5000 years ago, and a sense that those people lived really close to the earth, the sea and the sky. We visit the mysterious Ring of Brodgar, the neolithic village of Skara Brae, a sacred cairn, and the Bay of Skale. John responds by composing five new poems.

Sheltering from the storm, Erland and John entertain each other by swapping their favourite Orkney myths and legends - featuring seal people, a trip to faerie land and disappearing islands. These stories also weave their way into both artists' work.

Listen here (available during January 2020)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cnc4

With thanks to Trevor B for the link
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Skara Brae archive photos from the 1920s by Andy B on Friday, 16 March 2018
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Archive photos of V Gordon Childe's dig from the 1920s

http://www.swandro.co.uk/dig-diary/4593359727/V-Gordon-Childe-at-Skara-Brae-flappers-cloche-hats-cloth-caps/11280918

and V Gordon Childe's notebooks

http://digital-collections.ucl.ac.uk/webclient/StreamGate?folder_id=0&dvs=1521220447035~327&usePid1=true&usePid2=true

http://digital-collections.ucl.ac.uk/webclient/StreamGate?folder_id=0&dvs=1521220447761~339&usePid1=true&usePid2=true

With thanks to Swandro - Orkney Coastal Archaeology Trust, who are fundraising for a trailer, and Michael Bott for the link

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Touching the Neolithic installation, National Museum of Scotland, December 2013 by Andy B on Wednesday, 11 October 2017
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Touching the Neolithic is an immersive, interactive dome film exhibited at the National Museum of Scotland in December 2013. Through laser scanning, photogrammetry, digital re-construction and 3D printing we explore space and time, artifact and place, to reveal new meaning behind Orkney’s neolithic world heritage site Skara Brae. 3D printed museum replicas control and blend realtime warped, ultra high resolution, uncompressed fulldome animations interactively through experimental graphics accelerated video encoding on a single PC.

Video:
http://pixogram.co.uk/?portfolio=touching-neolithic (archive link) or https://vimeo.com/83447964
(Vimeo login required)
To view installation photographs and video see here
http://pixogram.co.uk/?portfolio=nms-exhibition or vimeo.com/79107880
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3D model of a Neolithic House at Skara Brae by Andy B on Thursday, 24 September 2015
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Neolithic House, Skara Brae, Sandwick, Orkney
by Dr Hugo Anderson-Whymark
on Sketchfab


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Heart of Neolithic Orkney Management Plan 2014-19 launched by Andy B on Wednesday, 04 June 2014
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A five year vision for the management, protection and promotion of Orkney’s World Heritage Site was unveiled at a special event at Skara Brae.

Representatives from Historic Scotland, Orkney Island Council, Scottish Natural Heritage, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds were on hand to launch the Heart of Neolithic Orkney Management Plan 2014-19, which sets out how the partners will protect, conserve, and enhance the site.

The plan is the result of extensive consultation with stakeholders and members of the community, which took place last year.

Five thousand years ago, the people of Orkney began constructing some extraordinary monuments out of stone. They built a series of domestic and ritual monuments which include a beautifully-preserved domestic settlement at Skara Brae, the chambered tomb at Maeshowe, the Stones of Stenness circle and henge, and the Ring of Brodgar: a great stone circle, 130 metres across.

These important monuments are now collectively known as the Heart of Neolithic Orkney (HONO) and represent one of the richest surviving Neolithic landscapes in western Europe. Since being inscribed in 1999 they have been an official UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is a designation for places on Earth that are “of outstanding universal value to humanity”, and includes places as diverse and unique as the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Taj Mahal in India, and the Acropolis in Greece.

In welcoming the launch of the Plan, Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs said: “Five millennia after they were built, these beautifully-preserved monuments offer us an invaluable insight into the society, skills and spiritual beliefs of the people who constructed them. Since it was inscribed in 1999, the successful management of the site has depended on the close working relationship between the Partners, who have drawn on the experience, as well as consulting with stakeholders and members of the public, to produce this new, improved Management Plan”.

Gavin Barr, Orkney Islands Council’s Executive Director of Development and Infrastructure said: Orkney’s heritage plays an important role in life on the Islands today, by providing cultural, spiritual, economic and educational benefits. I’m delighted that the new Management Plan will ensure an appropriate policy context for ensuring the Sites remain relevant to modern day challenges, recognising their role in the wider sustainability of Orkney’s environment and economy.”

The site is managed and cared for by Historic Scotland who work in partnership with Orkney Islands Council, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in its wider management.

Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government charged with safeguarding the nation’s historic environment. The agency is fully accountable to Scottish Ministers and through them to the Scottish Parliament.

The Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site Management Plan can be found on the Historic Scotland website at
http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/orkney-whs-management-plan.pdf (PDF)

As part of its World Heritage Status, UNESCO guidelines require management plans to be drawn up every five years.

Source: Historic Scotland
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New finds in ‘cathedral’ building reignite question – Stone Age dresser or altar? by Runemage on Thursday, 22 September 2011
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Also posted on the Barnhouse and Ness of Brodgar site pages as it pertains to all three. Many thanks to David Morgan for spotting this article.

New finds in ‘cathedral’ building reignite age-old question – Stone Age dresser or altar?

Posted by Sigurd Towrie on Friday, September 16, 2011;
Categorised as: Neolithic
Tagged as: Barnhouse, Ness of Brodgar, Skara Brae

“A curious feature which is found in [Skara Brae’s] chambers three and six is an arrangement of two stone shelves, erected one above the other and abutting against one of the stone walls.
“They remind one of double berths in a ship, but they were used, more probably, for storing pottery utensils in, when not in use, and Professor Childe’s descriptive term – ‘dresser’ – is probably not very wide of the mark”
Skerrabrae, by Hugh Marwick.
Kirkwall, November 8, 1928.

One of the “dressers” in Skara Brae. (Sigurd Towrie)

Orkney’s history features a number of striking symbols — items that most folk could identify immediately: the Maeshowe dragon, the Scar plaque and, probably, the large stone ‘dressers’ in Skara Brae.

The powerful imagery surrounding the latter remains today, so much so that it features heavily in the decoration of the Skara Brae visitor centre and guidebook – not bad for a prehistoric kitchen cupboard.

But over the years, the significance, and role, of these so-called ‘dressers’ has been questioned.

They were built to the same design and placed in the same position in certain structures – directly opposite the entrance. Were they more than mere domestic storage?

The idea that there was more to the dresser was brought to the fore following the discovery of the Barnhouse Settlement in 1984.

Among the ‘normal’ houses on site was a massive later building, which was christened Structure Eight.

This building was constructed around 2600BC, after the village had been abandoned. It was a massive hall-like structure, seven metres square, with incredibly thick outer walls. It was also built on a platform of yellow clay, a feature paralleling Maeshowe, nearby.

Structure Eight’s clay platform was then surrounded by an enclosing circular wall, creating an internal courtyard over 20 metres across.

The complex’s spatial layout closely resembles that of the Standing Stones of Stenness, and it was immediately clear that this was no domestic residence. But inside, was a stone dresser.

But why build a storage unit for domestic utensils, when archaeological excavations have shown that Structure Eight’s central fire was not used for the preparation of food?

All cooking relating to whatever was happening inside Structure Eight was carried out in the courtyard between the inner and outer walls.

So, it seemed that the dresser in Structure Eight was more than a mere item of furniture — an altar perhaps?

The idea has parallels throughout history and other cultures. For example, the traditional ‘ger’ – or ‘yurt’ as it’s more commonly known – of the Mongolian nomads has featured, for 3,000 years now, an altar directly facing the entrance.
In addition, the interior organisation of a ger follows an identical pattern – the door faces the south, the men’s place is in the west part, and the north side is the place for honoured guests, or old people, as well as the place for the family altar. The east side is the women’s territory, and the stove occupies the centre.

Fast forward to the early 21st century and the discovery of the Stone Age complex on the Ness of Brodgar – in particular, Structure Ten – the massive Neolithic ‘cathedral’.

Measuring 25 metres long by 20 metres wide, the outer walls remain to a height of approximately one metre.

Its sheer size – with i

Read the rest of this post...
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Re: Skara Brae by jeffrep on Monday, 30 August 2010
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Skara Brae is a large well-preserved stone-built Neolithic village that was occupied from roughly 3100-2500 B.C. Until an 1850 storm partially unearthed it, Skara Brae lay under years of soil sediment. It was fully excavated between 1928 and 1930 by the famous archaeologist, V. Gordon Childe.

The village consists of ten clustered houses, which were sunk into the ground -- into midden, the decomposition of organic matter, shells, bones, and other matter -- to act as insulation against harsh weather. Intricate passageways connect most of the dwellings with each other. The typical dwelling contains a large square room containing a large hearth for heating and cooking, a number of stone-built pieces of furniture, including cupboards, dressers, seats, and storage boxes, and an ingenious drainage.

The remains of Skara Brae that one sees today -- except for two earlier dwellings -- are from the second phase of it occupation, as they sit above an earlier settlement. The second phase took place about half-way through it occupation.

After nearly 600 years of occupation, around 2500 B.C, it appears that the settlement was abandoned. One theory suggests that the weather changed drastically, causing the inhabitants to leave. Another theory claims that it was abandoned because of changes in the nature of Neolithic society from tight-knit communities to a more dispersed one.
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Audio Tour of Stromness Museum by Andy B on Saturday, 13 February 2010
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Highlight: artefacts from a 5,000-year-old village called Skara Brae.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/take_one/downloads.shtml
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Saving the gems of the Stone Age (about Skara Brae includes video from BBC) by Andy B on Tuesday, 04 August 2009
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It is one of the best preserved Stone Age villages in Europe, but Skara Brae in Orkney is just a few metres from the sea and it is a constant battle to save it from coastal erosion.

Experts warn as many as 10,000 historic sites around Scotland are at risk of being swept away, many of them unexcavated and unprotected.

BBC News Scotland Correspondent Lorna Gordon has been to visit the Neolithic community to see what measures are being taken to protect it.

It is a Stone Age village of subterranean houses abandoned 5,000 years ago - now tourists travel from all over the world to Skara Brae to get a 3D glimpse of what Neolithic life might have been like.

They see remarkably well preserved and well ordered homes, each with a dresser, beds, a hearth, and underground passageways linking one house to another. All that's missing are the roofs.


We don't know exactly how much has disappeared into the sea over the years before proper coastal defences were put in
Julie Gibson
Orkney archaeologist

What remains is made of stone and that's part of the reason Skara Brae has survived so long. The other is that when the village emptied of people it was slowly covered over by grass and sand.

For thousands of years it was hidden from view and protected from the harsh island weather, and it is that weather whipping up the sea nearby which is still Skara Brae's greatest threat.

Orkney archaeologist Julie Gibson says recent geophysics have uncovered more of the village a short distance inland, but adds: "We don't know exactly how much has disappeared into the sea over the years before proper coastal defences were put in."

Storm fears

Those defences are well maintained by Historic Scotland and added to every year. But on a walk around the 4m-high coastal wall, Stephen Watt from Historic Scotland explains some of the challenges they face.

Pointing to one part of the wall he admits that a storm three years ago brought trouble.

He said: "This particular bit was badly damaged. There was a hole you could almost walk into. It drew out a huge amount of material from behind the sea wall."

Last year another part of the wall was rebuilt down to the bedrock to stop water getting underneath.

Inside Orkney's Stone Age village

Stephen Watt says they have discovered that the greatest erosion is occurring where the hard stone of the sea wall meets the sand. If that continues he says it is possible that the sand might erode back and that the sea would come round the side of Skara Brae.

So now Historic Scotland, along with other organisations, is monitoring the entire bay to work out the rate of erosion and where it is worst. Future repairs will be based on the results of this wider study.

Skara Brae will always be protected, but take a walk a little further down the beach and there's a good illustration of the threat to other unprotected and unexcavated historic sites.

In the dunes just a few hundred metres away there's a line of stones jutting out from a wall of sand. Tom Dawson from the Scape Trust, a charity researching Scotland's coastal archaeology, says pieces of pottery and other artefacts indicate they are the remains of an Iron Age wall, possibly as much as 2000 years old.

He draws a comparison between the two sites, saying: "Without a coastal defence Skara Brae would be washed away in exactly the same way that this site is being washed away. At the moment this site looks quite stable, but a single storm could come in, undermine the sand and all the stone here would come collapsing down."

'Lost forever'

Scotland has thousands of historic sites around its coastline. Archaeologists would like to document as many as possible before coastal erosion washes some away, but some are already disappearing.

Julie Gibso

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Skara Brae sea wall gets a stronger toe by coldrum on Friday, 30 January 2009
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Skara Brae sea wall gets a stronger toe

Work is about to begin on strengthening the foundations of the sea wall near the Neolithic village of Skara Brae.

The waves have undermined a section of the concrete toe on which the protective walling was built and could cause damage if left unrepaired.

Historic Scotland has started a project which will involve digging two metres down, insert a new reinforced concrete toe with steel securing rods to bond the existing toe to the underlying bed rock.

Stephen Watt, Historic Scotland district architect, said: “This is an important piece of work along a 15-metre stretch of wall and will involve a considerable amount of highly skilled work.

“The area affected is a bit beyond Skara Brae itself, but it is important because it stops the sea outflanking us.

“These are interim measures which help protect an enormously important part of Scotland’s heritage.

“We are currently working with a number of other groups and organisations to put together a strategy to protect the entire bay from the effects of natural erosion.”

This year Historic Scotland will also be trying out two alternative surfacing materials on paths at Skara Brae.

Both have been a success at Stonehenge and may prove a hard-wearing and visually sympathetic alternative to the existing hard stone paths used in Orkney.

Mr Watt said: “A group of us travelled to Stonehenge last summer to see what we could learn from their experience in developing path surfaces that are long-lasting, easy for visitors to use, and do not look out of place near an ancient monument.

“We were very impressed with what we found.

“In some places they have a special turf which can take a lot of wear and tear and elsewhere they have artificial green matting which is coloured to blend in with the surroundings and is very slip resistant.

“We are going to try these out in a couple of areas and monitor them for 18 months to see if they would be appropriate at Skara Brae.”

A stretch of artificial matting will be laid in coming weeks and turf will be introduced in the spring – neither project will interfere the Skara Brae visitor experience.

Information for Editors

* Skara Brae is 19 miles north west of Kirkwall on the B9056. Telephone 01856 841815.
* The settlement is open to the public all year. Winter admission prices are £5.50 for adults, £4.70 concessions and £2.85 for children. Wheelchairs are available.
* Historic Scotland is delighted to be supporting the 2009 Year of Homecoming with a series of initiatives including family trails, spectacular events and the creation of a Homecoming Pass for heritage attractions in association with other heritage organisations.

http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/news/news_article.htm?articleid=21625
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Re: Skara Brae by Andy B on Saturday, 06 December 2008
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AngieLake writes: This was the text of the information board that accompanied the stone balls in the summer 2001 exhibition at Skara Brae's visitor centre museum.

"Mystery Objects
Mysterious stone objects were found at the village. Their purpose is not known, but they had some religious significance. A great amount of time was invested in elaborately carving these stones, so they were clearly important. They could have been used in religious ceremonies.
Or perhaps they were symbols of power, and when passed round a gathering of people, bestowed on the holder the right to speak."

It's quite possible that archaeologists have different opinions by now.
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Plan to prevent erosion of Neolithic sites by Andy B on Friday, 16 May 2008
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A long term strategy is planned to protect one of Europe's most important archaeological sites from erosion.
A consultation was launched yesterday into a future management plan for the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site (WHS), which aims to protect, conserve and improve understanding of the historic area.

The WHS comprises six sites: the Skara Brae settlement, Maeshowe chambered tomb, the Stones of Stenness, the Watch Stone, the Barnhouse Stone, and the Ring of Brodgar and associated monuments. The monuments, dating from 3000-2000BC, are regarded as outstanding testimony to the cultural achievements of the Neolithic people of northern Europe.

Historic Scotland, Orkney Islands Council, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds are responsible for managing the WHS.

Skara Brae is vulnerable to coastal erosion. A Historic Scotland spokesman said: "When the settlement was built 5,000 years ago, it was at least 1km from the coast. The remains are now right on the edge of Skaill Bay, and … there is evidence to suggest that the rate of erosion has accelerated in recent years."

Archaeology is one of the main attractions for visitors to Orkney, and last year Skara Brae had 74,000 visitors and Maeshowe had 25,000. Measures have been put in place to reduce visitor wear.

Historic Scotland says careful management is required to ensure the WHS is conserved while also protecting wildlife, including birds on the RSPB Ring of Brodgar Reserve.

More at The Scotsman:
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Plan-to-prevent-erosion-of.4066905.jp
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New stone at Skara Brae commemorates first man in space by Anonymous on Tuesday, 15 April 2008
One of Scotland’s most celebrated Neolithic sites is to commemorate a defining moment in the 20th century space race by erecting a new carved stone along its carved stone walk way.

The pathway to the Skara Brae prehistoric village, in Orkney, is lined with carved stones that form a time trail of major events in human history. Historic Scotland created it as a way of emphasising the immensity of the changes that have taken place since the settlement was inhabited 5,000 years ago.

The latest stone to line the pathway will mark the anniversary of the moment, on April 12 1961, when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit the Earth - in his spaceship Vostok 1.

"At Historic Scotland we are delighted to commemorate an event of such importance by including it in the Skara Brae timeline," said Doreen Grove, Historic Scotland head of access and understanding.

"It will help underline just how much has changed since the days of the Neolithic farmers who built Skara Brae."

The idea for the new stone was suggested by Alexander Korobko who visited in 2006 in search of his Orcadian roots. Mr Korobko and a series of Russian dignitaries, as well as cosmonaut Georgi Michailovich Grechko, are due to be present at the unveiling which will take place at 10.30am on Saturday April 12.

There is much interest in Russia in the new stone and two Russian film crews are expected to attend.

http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART56115.html
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Skara Brae by coldrum on Wednesday, 20 February 2008
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Historic Scotland Link:

http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/properties_sites_detail?propertyID=PL_244
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scotland's treasured places by glen on Saturday, 15 December 2007
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skara brae, and the stones of stenness and rosslyn chapel, are among 10 winners in a december '07 vote to tour an exhibition of images of scotland's most "treasured places"
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10,000 historic sites at risk from climate change by coldrum on Wednesday, 17 October 2007
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10,000 historic sites at risk from climate change

MORE THAN 10,000 of the most important ancient and historical sites around Scotland's coastline are at risk of being destroyed by the storms and rising sea levels that will come with global warming.

Sites in jeopardy include the neolithic settlement of Skara Brae on Orkney and the prehistoric ruins at Jarlshof on Shetland. Others under threat range from Viking burial boats to Iron Age brochs and Mesolithic middens.

New surveys for Historic Scotland reveal that the remains of communities up to 9000 years old could be lost for ever due to accelerating coastal erosion.

The potential loss is incalculable and has alarmed experts. "This is a uniquely valuable and totally irreplaceable part of the nation's cultural heritage, with much still to teach us about our past," said Tom Dawson, an archaeologist at the University of St Andrews.

"While people argue over whether climate change is leading to sea level rise and an increase in stormy weather, the coast continues to erode. Although wildlife and the natural habitat may be able to recover, ancient sites will be destroyed forever, and the remnants of our ancestors will be lost."

Dawson manages a group called Scottish Coastal Archaeology and the Problem of Erosion (Scape), which was set up in 2001 to protect ancient shoreline sites. With the help of local Shorewatch' groups across the country, Scape has been investigating the status of the sites.

So far some 30% of Scotland's coastline has been surveyed, discovering 11,500 archaeological sites of which 3500 are judged to be at risk of erosion. According to Dawson, that suggests that more than 10,000 sites around the whole coast are likely to be at risk.

The results of the surveys have been summarised in a report by Scape to Historic Scotland, which has not yet been published. But Dawson is due to unveil his findings at a major conference on climate change and the historic environment in Stirling on Tuesday.

Many of the archaeological sites are concentrated on Orkney, Shetland, the Western Isles and parts of the west coast, which are known to be particularly vulnerable to storms.

Others can be found around all the major estuaries, including the Clyde and the Forth.

Many sites have yet to be excavated and properly studied. Others are iconic and well-known remains defended by old and eroding seawalls, such as Skara Brae, Jarlshof, the Broch of Gurness on Orkney and Lochranza Castle on the Isle of Arran.

Dawson accepted that it would be impossible to save all the sites. But he stressed how important it was to try to map, study and preserve as many as possible in order of priority.

"It is not all doom and gloom," he said. "By working together, we can rescue information and artefacts from some of the sites before they are destroyed."

A recent example of the damage that can be inflicted by extreme weather was the fierce storm that whipped the Western Isles in January 2005, which tragically claimed the lives of five people from one family when they attempted to drive across a causeway near their home on South Uist.

According to Dawson, the storm washed away up to 20 metres of the coastline in some places. At Baile Sear beach, on the west coast of North Uist, a car park and a picnic area disappeared, leaving a track ending abruptly on the shoreline.

The storm also uncovered a mass of archaeological remains at Baile Sear, including pottery, animal bones, slabs of masonry and an ancient waste dump. In order to try to record what has been revealed before it vanishes in another storm, archaeologists and volunteers have been working extensively there this summer.

Teams discovered two buildings, a structure containing several small rooms and a remarkably preserved Iron Age wheelhouse, probably built around 2000 years ago.

They als

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Skara Brae site graffiti removed by coldrum on Wednesday, 17 October 2007
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Skara Brae site graffiti removed

Experts have successfully removed all traces of graffiti which had been daubed onto the ancient Skara Brae settlement on Orkney.
The vandalism, including the words "Scouse Celts", was found at the 5,000-year-old site last month.

Historic Scotland said careful restoration work had returned the "hugely significant" site back to normal, with no long-term damage.

It had been feared the graffiti could have left permanent marks.

A conservation team was on site immediately after the incident occurred and began researching how best to remove the marker pen.

Stephen Gordon, senior conservator at Historic Scotland, said: "After extensive trials, we achieved the right formula and we are delighted to say it has been remarkably successful."

Poultices made up of a solvent and paper pulp were applied to the graffiti and left to take effect.

This removed much of the marker, but two further poultices with a different combination of solvents were then added to remove the remaining residue.

Mary Dunnett, Historic Scotland monument manager at Skara Brae, said: "After discovering the graffiti, we feared there may be permanent damage to this precious 5,000-year-old stone, but thanks to our dedicated team of conservators, House 1 is back to its former magnificent state.

"Visitors and the local community have been very supportive during the past few weeks since the incident occurred and we are thankful for their co-operation."

The Neolithic village of Skara Brae dates back 5,000 years and appears to have been occupied for about 600 years between about 3100 BC and 2500 BC.

The structures of the semi-subterranean village survive in impressive condition, as does the furniture in the village houses.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/6985049.stm
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Re: Outrage as vandals hit Skara Brae by Spiritseeker on Monday, 17 September 2007
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Just another example of mindlessness and ignorance. Why History in schools is going down the pan defeats me. Surely unless one has a sense of the past they can't hope to make sense of the present or the future. Those of us who do care must keep plugging on come what may. Maybe a gleam of light will brighten this materialistic society of which we are in the midst , one day! Spiritseeker
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New suspect in Skara Brae enquiry by coldrum on Thursday, 23 August 2007
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Police searching for vandals who scrawled graffiti at the site of the ancient Skara Brae settlement are now looking for a 35-year-old man.
The man, who might speak with a Liverpudlian accent, is said to be 5ft 6 in, of medium build with fair hair.

He may be using the name Brian Finlay and make conversation about the Celts, police on Orkney added.

Staff found the graffiti daubed on the 5,000-year-old site - including the words "Scouse Celts" - on Tuesday.

Monument managers said vandals had entered one of the houses at the site and drawn a smiley face, their name and the date with black marker pen, defacing both the dresser and one of the bed posts.

Ruled out

It was initially thought that the vandalism may have been carried out by tourists travelling round the island in a silver people carrier.

However, police ruled the group out of their inquiries after questioning the vehicle's occupants earlier.

The man they are now looking for is believed to be sleeping rough on Orkney and has a backpack with him.

Historic Scotland, which is responsible for the upkeep of the world heritage site, said that it was liaising with its conservation centre in Edinburgh to find the best way of removing the graffiti as soon as possible.

"Graffiti removal on buildings of historical or architectural importance needs to be handled sensitively," said a spokeswoman.

"The careful process needs to ensure any long-term damage caused by the graffiti is kept to a minimum and the stone itself is not further damaged as part of the graffiti removal process.

"Our visitors have reacted with surprise and sympathy to the damage caused."

The cost - which is expected to be substantial - is not yet known.

Skara Brae was first discovered following a major storm in 1850, which battered the island to such an extent that an outline of a series of stone buildings was revealed.

A series of excavations was carried out over the next century, finally revealing eight stone dwellings which were originally believed to be an Iron Age settlement.

However, in the 1970s radiocarbon dating showed that the village was originally built between 3200 and 2200 BC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/north_east/6951100.stm
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Inquiry on Skara Brae vandalism by coldrum on Thursday, 23 August 2007
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Vandals have scarred an ancient settlement with graffiti.

Police in Orkney are looking for those responsible for defacing the neolithic village of Skara Brae above Bay of Skaill on Orkney's west coast.

The culprits may have left an important clue in their daubings. They wrote: "Brian Finlay slept here 13-8-2007" and "scouse celts". Police say that this suggests the damage may have been caused by visitors who spent the night at the 5000-year-old site.

Skara Brae is seen as one of the archaeological treasures of the world, attracting thousands of visitors every year. Radiocarbon dating in the early 1970s showed the settlement was inhabited between 3200 BC and 2200 BC.

On Tuesday, Historic Scotland staff found the graffiti in house one in the settlement.

A spokeswoman said yesterday: "Historic Scotland is both saddened and disappointed that such an act has occurred, as I am sure is the local community. Our visitors have reacted with surprise and sympathy to the damage caused. We have around 650 visitors a day to Skara Brae at this time of year who travel there from all over the world. Skara Brae is a hugely significant site. It is one of Scotland's national treasures and forms part of a World Heritage Site."

A specialist team at Historic Scotland's conservation centre in Edinburgh are looking at the most appropriate method of removing the graffiti at the earliest possible opportunity.

A CID spokesman in Orkney said police were looking for the six occupants of a Silver Hyundai Matrix, registration number LT56 CZJ.

Skara Brae was discovered in a winter storm in 1850. Gale force winds and extremely high tides stripped the grass from the mound known as Skerrabra. This partially revealed the outline of some of the stone buildings.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/other/display.var.1620941.0.0.php
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Outrage as vandals hit Skara Brae by coldrum on Thursday, 23 August 2007
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House One at the site, one of the best preserved, was daubed with graffitti on Monday night - possibly, going by one of the markings, by someone who spent the night in the structure.

The culprit(s) - who are thought to be visitors to Orkney - used black marker pen to deface two stones; one on the house's dresser and the other on a bed corner-post.

http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/skarabraegraffiti.htm
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Graffiti daubed at historic site by coldrum on Thursday, 23 August 2007
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A vandal who daubed graffiti on one of Scotland's most historic sites is believed to be a tourist who is still on Orkney.

Staff at Skara Brae arrived on Tuesday to find graffiti scribbled on the walls of the 5,000 year-old village.

Police are keen to trace a group of visitors who are believed to have been travelling in a silver Hyundai.

The site attracts thousands of visitors every year and is one of Orkney's most iconic tourist attractions.

Mary Dunnett, monument manager of the site which is looked after by Historic Scotland, said that the graffiti was one of the first things that visitors to the village would see.

"Someone has come in and gone into house one, which is one of the best houses here in Skara Brae," she said.

"They've put marker pen on a dresser and they've also written their name, put a smiley face and the date on one of the bedposts so it's quite prominent.

"I'd imagine it will cost a lot of money to remove this without damaging the stone too much."

Sergeant Gregor Hay, who is leading the investigation, said that they had identified the suspect as a tourist due to travel back to the mainland by ferry on Friday.

"We believe the suspect has been stupid enough to use his own name," he added. "We are keen to speak to a family who are still on the island."

Gradual excavations

Skara Brae was first discovered following a major storm in 1850, which battered the island to such an extent that an outline of a series of stone buildings were revealed.

A series of excavations were carried out over the next century, finally revealing eight stone dwellings that were originally believed to be an Iron Age settlement.

However in the 1970s radiocarbon dating showed that the village was originally built between 3200 and 2200 BC.

Today the ancient village is under serious erosion threat from the sea and Orkney's fierce weather conditions.

bbc.co.uk.
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    Re: Graffiti daubed at historic site by Anonymous on Monday, 10 September 2007
    I think that is terrible because we should be lucky to have a neolithic village in Scotland, not for vandels to vandel it. Because I've never been there but would love too and im doing a project on it at school and if I ever wanted to go then seeing that! And for other visiters maybe from the otherside of the world wanting to see it! =O
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Vandals desecrate Skara Brae by Andy B on Thursday, 16 August 2007
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kooljeff posts:
Graffiti daubed at historic site
Vandals have daubed graffiti on one of Scotland's most historic sites in Orkney.

Staff at Skara Brae arrived at work on Tuesday to find graffiti scribbled on the walls of the Neolithic village.

The site brings in thousands of visitors every year and is one of Orkney's most iconic tourist attractions.

Police are keen to trace a group of visitors who are believed to have been travelling in a silver Hyundai.

Source: BBC News
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    Re: Vandals desecrate Skara Brae by Anonymous on Thursday, 16 August 2007
    Looks like the idiots will get caught...
    Daily Record
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Re: Skara Brae by TimPrevett on Monday, 12 March 2007
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Link to Skara Brae on YouTube - embedding disabled

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy4aKZfGOXk
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Re: Skara Brae Visitor Centre by TimPrevett on Saturday, 21 October 2006
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The food available here is pretty darn good stuff, by the way. Decently priced, and in my opinion, was very good in quality and quantity! If you need to eat out when visiting, this comes recommended in my book.
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Re: Skara Brae by Vicky on Wednesday, 12 October 2005
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There's a nice article on Skara Brae in today's Scotsman.
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The Female Mysteries of House Seven by Anonymous on Tuesday, 13 September 2005
Power of seven by KATH GOURLAY

Whatever tenant arrangements were agreed around 5,000 years ago, number seven house at Skara Brae village in Orkney has been pretty good value for money. Structurally, it's solid and the furniture - beds, dresser, cupboards, cool-store for the food - is still in tip-top condition. And if the original roofing (whalebone, skin, turf or suchlike) had been regularly attended to, it could be advertised as "ready for occupation".

Certainly, there wouldn't have been the modern condensation problem, caused by the latter-day addition of a glass roof, or the stresses caused from thousands of feet pounding along what was meant to be the upper level of somebody's home. Which is why Julie Gibson, Orkney's county archaeologist, reckons the preservation work done this summer on the neolithic house has made present-day visitors appreciate the unique value of the site even more.

"The set-up at Skara Brae, where visitors could only look down from the top, or stroll into roofless houses without bending, wasn't true to life," Gibson says. "But because house seven is closed off to visitors just now, Historic Scotland has reconstructed it nearby and members of the public can get a much more realistic impression of how things were - by crouching to get in through the door, and getting used to the limited light inside the house."

The eight best-preserved houses are the ones that make up the village seen by present-day visitors, but originally there were a dozen or so apartments - a neolithic equivalent of a modern housing estate, with a formalised regularity of layout.

"There's a pattern, a certain style reproduced right across the neolithic villages of the time," says Gibson. "Right and left, front and back, the furniture would look the same and be arranged in the same way with the dresser facing the door, the larger bed on the right and the smaller one on the left. Then you had a certain size of clay pot with grooved-ware symbols, just to the left of the door."

Villagers tended to build and rebuild on top of previous sites, but the interior layout appeared to remain unchanged. Whatever ancient equivalent to feng shui was dictating the living arrangements, it had a powerful influence, right down to the symbols. Nothing new under the sun, as they say.

The seventh and eighth apartments played a special role in village activities, it seems, though nobody is quite sure what this amounted to. House seven has its own separate passageway running at right-angles off the main corridor linking the houses, and for some reason the door is designed to be opened from the outside, not the inside like all the others. Who or what would have been shut in there? Julie Gibson doesn't know, but would love to find out.

"There's obviously a reason for the architectural modifications, and the fact that two women are buried under house seven has led to a wide range of anthropological arguments - some more feasible than others."

Was it a matriarchal set-up? Were the two women revered members of society? The remains are not those of young women, so were they keepers of ancient and powerful knowledge? Where they the village shamans? There are symbolic spiral and lozenge carvings around where they are buried; these are said to represent the life cycles of birth, growth, death and ultimately rebirth.

"Maybe women were closed off in there for ritualistic reasons," says Gibson. "Menstruation was seen as a mystic sign as it occurred monthly following the phases of the moon; and then there was the whole awesome business of producing new people. They could have been closed off for childbirth, to keep the mysterious process secret. Perhaps house seven was a 'women's' house. The furniture arrangements are certainly different - it's the only one with a large stone block in the living area."

Could this have been a birthing plinth? "It's plausible," she says, but she is not convi

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Re: Skara Brae by Larry on Friday, 05 October 2001
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Well, Skara Brae, it's not that big a deal...just a little collection of old dwellings, recently exposed to the air...OK, well, they were exposed in the 19th century, and they're 5000 years old, and the conveniences these people fashioned for themselves are still there. The famed "stone dresser", a construction of rock slabs that form a free standing multi-shelved mantel, will probably give you pause to think. All told there are, what, 7 units, I think, all connected, and you can walk around above them. It's unfortunate you can't descend into them, although there is a mock unit which you can walk around.

The visitors center is pleasant, with a video presentation that's worth watching. There's also a 16th century manor on the same grounds, available for the same admission. When I was there, I was greeted by the current owner.

The site is right by the water (although it didn't use to be - changing landscape and all that) and is all and all a very pleasant and thought-provoking place to visit.
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