Excavated dwellings at Skara Brae, Europe's most complete Neolithic village.

Evidence of home furnishings i. e. shelves.

Outline of Skara Brae settlement.

View over the settlement, showing covering to House No. 7 and proximity to modern shore line.

Skara Brae (pronounced /ˈskɑrə ˈbreɪ/) is a large stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of mainland Orkney, Scotland. The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos The Bay of Skaill is a small bay on the west coast of the Orkney Mainland Scotland. Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It consists of ten clustered houses, and was occupied from roughly 3100-2500BC. It is Europe's most complete Neolithic village and the level of preservation is such that it has gained UNESCO World Heritage Site status. The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex ^[1]

Discovery and Features of Skara Brae

Until 1850, Skara Brae lay under years of soil sediment when in the winter of that year a large storm stripped the grass from the large mound known as Skerrabra.

The outline of several of stone buildings was revealed and initial excavations were undertaken by William Watt, the laird of Skaill. It was fully excavated between 1928 and 1930 by Vere Gordon Childe following another storm in 1926. Vere Gordon Childe (14 April 1892 Sydney, New South Wales –19 October 1957 Mt

Skara Brae's inhabitants were apparently makers and users of grooved ware. Most Neolithic cultures in Britain are best identified by the pottery remains which they left The houses used earth sheltering but, being sunk into the ground, they were built into mounds of pre-existing domestic waste (rubbish) known as "middens". Earth sheltering is the architectural practice of using earth against building walls for external Thermal mass, to reduce heat loss and to easily maintain A midden, also known as a kitchen midden, or a shell heap, is a dump for domestic waste. Although the midden provided the houses with a small degree of stability, its most important purpose was to act as a layer of insulation against Orkney's harsh winter climate. On average, the houses measure 40 square metres in size with a large square room containing a large hearth which would have been used for heating and cooking. As few trees grow on the island, the people of Skara Brae used driftwood and whalebone, with turf thatch, to roof their dwellings.

The dwellings contain a number of stone-built pieces of furniture, including cupboards, dressers, seats, and storage boxes. Furniture is the Mass noun for the movable objects which may support the human body (seating furniture and beds, provide storage or hold objects on horizontal A sophisticated drainage system was even incorporated into the village's design, one that included a primitive form of toilet in each dwelling. A toilet is a Plumbing fixture and disposal system primarily intended for the disposal of the bodily wastes: Urine and fecal matter. Seven of the houses have similar furniture, with the beds and dresser in the same places in each house. The dresser stands against the wall opposite the door, and would have been the first thing anyone entering the dwelling would see. The eighth house has no storage boxes or dresser, but has been divided into something resembling small cubicles. When this house was excavated, fragments of stone, bone and antler were found. It is possible that this building was used as a workshop to make simple tools such as bone needles or flint axes. A flint axe was a Tool used during Prehistoric times to perform a variety of tasks

The site provided the earliest known record of the human flea Pulex irritans in Europe. Flea is the Common name for any of the small wingless Insects of the order Siphonaptera (some authorities use the name Aphaniptera ^[2]

Radiocarbon evidence indicates Skara Brae was occupied from about 3100 BC, for about six hundred years. Around 2500 BC, after the climate changed, turning much colder and wet, the settlement may have been abandoned by its inhabitants. There are many theories as to why the people of Skara Brae suddenly left, but there is no solid evidence suggesting why this occurred.

Although the visible buildings give an impression of an organic whole, it is certain that an unknown quantity of additional structures had already been lost to sea erosion before the site's rediscovery. Uncovered remains are known to exist immediately adjacent to the ancient monument, in areas presently covered by fields, and others, of uncertain date, can be seen eroding out of the cliff edge a little to the south of the enclosed area. A substantial stone-built sea-wall protects the uncovered remains from continuing erosion.

Related sites in Orkney

A comparable — if smaller — site exists at Rinyo on Rousay. Rousay ( Old Norse Hrólfsey meaning Rolf's Island is a small hilly island about 3 km (2 miles north of Orkney's Mainland, off the north coast of Unusually, no Maeshowe-type tombs have been found on Rousay and although there are a large number of Orkney-Cromarty chambered cairns, these were built by unstan ware people. Maeshowe (or Maes Howe) is a Neolithic Chambered cairn and Passage grave situated on mainland Orkney, Scotland. A cairn ( carn in Irish is an artificial pile of stones often in a conical form Unstan ware is the name used by Archaeologists for a type of finely made and decorated Neolithic pottery from the 4th millennium BC

Knap of Howar on the Orkney island of Papa Westray, is a well preserved Neolithic farmstead. At Knap of Howar on the Orkney island of Papa Westray, a Neolithic farmstead has been wonderfully well preserved and is claimed to be the oldest preserved Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north Papa Westray also known as Papay, is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, with a population of 65 at the time of the 2001 Census now increased to The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos Dating from 3500 BC to 3100 BC, it is similar in design to Skara Brae, but from an earlier period, and it is thought to be the oldest preserved standing building in northern Europe. ^[3]

World Heritage status

Heart of Neolithic Orkney*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	United Kingdom
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iii, iv
Reference	514
Region†	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	1999  (23rd Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

‘The Heart of Neolithic Orkney’ was inscribed as a World Heritage site in December 1999. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex As of 2008 there are a total of 878 World Heritage Sites located in 145 "State Parties" The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex This is a list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Europe. Asia Minor, Cyprus, all of the Aegean Islands, the Canaries A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex Heart of Neolithic Orkney refers to a group of Neolithic monuments found in the Scottish island of Orkney. In addition to Skara Brae the site includes Maeshowe, the Ring of Brodgar, the Standing Stones of Stenness and other nearby sites. Maeshowe (or Maes Howe) is a Neolithic Chambered cairn and Passage grave situated on mainland Orkney, Scotland. The Ring of Brodgar (or Brogar) is a Neolithic Henge and Stone circle in Orkney, Scotland. The surviving Standing Stones of Stenness form an impressive Neolithic monument on the mainland of Orkney, Scotland. It is managed by Historic Scotland, whose 'Statement of Significance' for the site begins:

The monuments at the heart of Neolithic Orkney and Skara Brae proclaim the triumphs of the human spirit in early ages and isolated places. They were approximately contemporary with the mastabas of the archaic period of Egypt (first and second dynasties), the brick temples of Sumeria, and the first cities of the Harappa culture in India, and a century or two earlier than the Golden Age of China. Unusually fine for their early date, and with a remarkably rich survival of evidence, these sites stand as a visible symbol of the achievements of early peoples away from the traditional centres of civilisation. ^[4]

Contemporary culture

• The children's novel The Boy with the Bronze Axe by Kathleen Fidler is set during the last days of Skara Brae. ^[5]
• A stone was unveiled in Skara Brae on April 12, 2008 marking the anniversary of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbiting the Earth in 1961. Events 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[6][7]
• The unexplained abandonment of Skara Brae was mentioned during a lecture in the 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

See also

• Ring of Brodgar
• Maeshowe
• World Heritage Sites in Scotland
• Timeline of prehistoric Scotland

References

External links

• Historic Scotland Official Website
• Orkneyjar