Megalithic Portal: Latest from Orkney, Scotland

Ness of Brodgar

Andy B — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 14:32:56 GMT

]]>Time Team Ness of Brodgar Special now available on Youtube: WATCH HERE. A large Neolithic complex on the Brodgar peninsula lies on the low ridge between the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar. Many stunning discoveries were made during the last 20 years. The excavation had ended but has been re-started this summer by Time Team - we await the results!

Head of Banks (East)

Heddle — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 15:12:43 GMT

A circular, turf-covered, earthen mound, possibly a barrow, at ND 3615 9241, at the end of the promontory of Head of Banks. It is about 5.0m in diameter and about 0.5m high: the top has been dug into, but without revealing any structure.

Head of Banks

Heddle — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 06:42:59 GMT

Cairn in Orkney

Blackawall

Heddle — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 06:39:06 GMT

Artificial Mound in Orkney

Holm of Papa Westray North

Andy B — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 13:43:03 GMT

]]>An Early Neolithic stalled chambered cairn at the northern tip of Holm of Papa Westray, the small islet lying east of Papa Westray, Orkney. Ancient DNA results published in 2026 by Prof. Vicki Cummings and colleagues identified a father and son entombed here in the mid-3300s BCE alongside the father's maternal uncle or half-brother, and revealed that two of the women buried here were genetically connected to a male at Tulach an t-Sionnaich in Caithness - family links across the Pentland Firth at the very edge of early Neolithic Britain.

Stenness

Andy B — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:46:48 GMT

]]>The northern lights over the Stones of Stenness, May 2025. Three impressive uprights, originally a stone circle of twelve stones 30m diameter, in a rock-cut ditch like the nearby Ring of Brodgar. The enormous height and narrowness of the huge slab must be seen. How it has stood for five millenia without cracking is beyond me. Excavations in 1973 revealed a central setting of stones, no longer visible, with cremated bone, charcoal, and grooved ware pottery. This style of pottery and the radiocarbon dating suggests a date of 3000BCE - the same period as the Skara Brae coastal settlement.

Knowe of Yarso

DrewParsons — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 18:36:43 GMT

]]>This 4900 year old stalled cairn sits above Eynhallow Sound on a continuation of the ridge below the uplands on the south side of Rousay island. The chamber is divided into stalls by vertical flagstones whilst the retaining walls comprise two layers of stonework, one on top of the other in a local tradition of a double skin of stone around the chamber. The stonework reflects the local Unstan Ware pottery's decoration tradition of triangular motifs. When excavated in 1934 the remains of at least 29 adults were found although for 17 only the skulls were found. The bones were disarticulated and arranged neatly in groups facing inwards.

Dwarfie Stane

Anne T — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 20:56:30 GMT

]]>This unique site on the Isle of Hoy, Orkney has attracted attention for centuries. It has been described as the dwelling place of giants, of dwarves, and as the home of an early Christian hermit. It was actually a tomb, related to the many chambered cairns found throughout Orkney. It dates to between 3500 and 2500 BC. Its construction, carved from a single enormous block of stone, is without parallel in Britain and Ireland. The labour involved, given the lack of metal tools, suggests that although small, it may have been of special significance.

Ring of Brodgar

Andy B — Sat, 12 Apr 2025 10:45:28 GMT

]]>Easily the most awe-inspiring prehistoric site in Scotland, the Ring of Brodgar lies on a promontory between two lochs. The stone circle is quite complete, and one of the biggest in Britain. The stones are set within a circular ditch up to 3m deep and 9m across that was hewn out of the solid bedrock by the prehistoric constructors.

Isbister: Tomb Of The Eagles

howar — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 18:57:14 GMT

]]>New excavations to investigate the nature of the supposed “hornworks” at either end of the chambered cairn. Chambered Cairn in Orkney which is now re-open again as a visitor attraction. One of those archaeological sites that we would not have in all their glory if it had not been for the enterprising curiosity of a native Orcadian, in this case Ronald Simison.

Spurness Early Bronze Age settlement

Andy B — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:12:47 GMT

]]>An Early Bronze Age structure in Spurness, excavated in 2018 and planned to be re-opened this August. The dig confirmed “double house” architecture as well as several other interesting elements. Dr Hugo Anderson-Whymark has created a 3D model showing the Bronze Age structures excavated in 2018, see the comments for details.

Auskerry 4

Andy B — Sun, 17 Nov 2024 11:52:40 GMT

]]>Secrets of prehistoric life on a remote island in Orkney - a video from Hamish Auskerry documenting Orkney’s new county archaeologist Paul Sharman on a visit to the island of Auskerry, view lower down this page. On a north-east facing hillside on Auskerry, a small island south of Stronsay, Orkney, this slab stands to an average height of 2.5m. There is an irregular depression in which its stone-packed base is set. On the same east-west alignment and 2.4m east of it, is a pair of parallel erect slabs, 0.8m apart, and protruding about 0.3m high. These appear to have been the packing of a second standing stone.

Knowes of Trotty

howar — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 11:33:25 GMT

]]>Lovely new photos of this site to illustrate the new book: Animating the Dead: An Archaeology of Bronze Age Burial Practices in Orkney - more in the comments on this page. Barrow Cemetery in Orkney West Mainland. The cairns were constructed using natural drumlins as platforms. Though many were excavated by 'barrow-diggers' only the one with the golden discs was in any sense recorded. The 2002 excavation, besides numerous cists in one of the cairns revealed in a flat area between two of the cairns some kind of building - perhaps a mortuary structure.

Blomuir Chambered Tomb

Andy B — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 11:01:26 GMT

]]>Chambered tomb excavations return for another season, there's a video talk on last year's discoveries and more on our page. Recently discovered in the parish of Holm, Orkney the ruins of a 5,000-year-old tomb that 'reflects the pinnacle of Neolithic engineering'. Fourteen articulated skeletons of men, women and children – two positioned as if they were embracing – have been found inside one of six cells or side rooms. The tomb measures more than 15m in diameter and contains a stone structure accessed through a long passage of around seven metres.

Rendall Doocot

Izozo — Sun, 23 Jun 2024 22:59:48 GMT

]]>Rendall doocot or dovecotes is the only beehive type in Orkney and this is the oldest type of doocot in Scotland.