Time for the old house to die? – henges and houses in the Neolithic
“The first decayed and new ones were made. And in time the new ones became old, yet still they were rings of timber – though now the rings were trimmed posts raised within a...
Category: Around the Ness
Around the Ness: ‘Lochview’ Standing Stones
…at the north-west end of the Bridge of Brogar is a large dilapidated tumulus, which appears to be the ruin of an ancient stone Pict’s castle; close by it are two small standing stones.”...
Around the Ness: Wasbister settlement and disc barrow
“Having got across the low ground of Wasbister they had one very remarkable place to cross called the ‘Seean Burn.’ At this place there has been a great deal of buildings on a large...
Around the Ness: Skaefrue
By Sigurd Towrie Lying around 110 metres (120 yds) downslope and south-west of the Ring of Bookan is the large Bronze Age barrow known as Skaefrue. The flat-topped, sub-circular mound is on a slope...
Around the Ness – The Stone of Odin
“As we passed the Bridge of Brodgar, we could dimly descry the Standing Stones of Stenness on the eminence but today looming in the darkness like a regiment of grim spectres. As we approached...
Around the Ness – Skara Brae
“Nowhere, except in Egypt or at Pompeii, is a prehistoric settlement to be found, the streets, huts and even domestic furniture of which are in such perfect preservation” Professor V. Gordon Childe. Letter to...
Walk the Ness Neolithic Trail
Although visitors can’t come to Orkney at present due to the Covid pandemic travel restrictions, we’re all looking forward to a time when things get back to some semblance of normality. So if you’re...
Around the Ness: Knowes and barrows
“We know little about most of the mounds around the Ring, though the clustering is enough to demonstrate that proximity was important.” Mark Edmonds. Orcadia: Land, Sea and Stone in Neolithic Orkney. 2019. ...
Around the Ness: The Barnhouse Stone
“…on the day itself, at the death of one year and the birth of the next, the sun drops onto the top of the Barnhouse Stone…” Mark Edmonds. Orcadia: Land, Sea and Stone in...
Around the Ness: Howe, Stromness
“A slightly different form of expansion may be present at Howe, Stromness, Mainland, where two buildings initially interpreted as a stalled tomb and mortuary house, due to the presence of hearths, can be confidently...
Around the Ness: The Deepdale Stone
By Sigurd Towrie Head north along the road parallel to the south-western shore of the Stenness loch and a single standing stone will be clearly visible on high ground to the north-west. Located in...
Around the Ness: The Bookan Chambered Cairn
By Sigurd Towrie At some point in the Neolithic a small, multi-chambered structure was built on high ground at the north-western end of the Ness of Brodgar. Today the Bookan chambered cairn is a...