Orkney Islands

These three sites are part of the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney UNESCO World Heritage Site. In its designation, it says:
"The architectural achievements of the people living there speak for a level of architectural sophistication which matches that of the centres in Mesopotamia
and North Africa. There is a piquant contrast between the small absolute size of the Orkney community 5000 years ago and its exceptional cultural vigour."

I felt very fortunate to have been able to visit these remote places.

Skara Brae is a stone-built settlement that was occupied from roughly 3100-2600 BC. There are 8 clustered houses,
containing stone furniture, that were buried until it was rediscovered when a storm uncovered parts of it in 1850.
It is older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids.

It is certain that an unknown quantity of additional structures had already been lost to sea erosion before the site's rediscovery
and subsequent protection by a seawall, and there are remains in the area that are known to exist but haven't been uncovered yet.

The Ring of Brodgar is a neolithic henge and stone circle that is thought to have been erected between 2500 and 2000 BC.
The circle is 104 metres in diameter and originally contained 60 stones. Only 27 are still standing. There is still a lot
of archeological work to be done on these sites to help us understand more about them.

The stones are set inside a circular ditch which was up to 3 metres deep, 9 metres wide and 380 metres in circumference.
Unlike Avebury in England, whose ditch was dug out of chalk, this one was carved out of the solid sandstone bedrock.

Maeshowe is an impressive 4,700 year old chambered tomb, built so the midwinter sun shines along its entrance passage as it sets.
Newgrange, in Ireland, also has a winter solstice alignment. Maeshowe also contain Norse runic 'graffiti' from the 12th c.
We went inside and marvelled at the stonework done by ancient people and still standing today.

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