Professor Jane Downes and Matthew Magee recording the podcast at the Ring of Brodgar. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)
The Ring of Brodgar is the subject of the latest episode of the… Read more
From at least the early 19th century, Vestrafiold was considered to be a source of the megaliths found in the Stones of Stenness and Ring of Brodgar. Why? Although several quarries were traditionally said to have produced standing stones, Vestrafiold had the proof in situ - quarried, but abandoned, megaliths scattered across the hillside. Read more
Melvyn Bragg is joined by Professor Vicki Cummings (University of Central Lancashire), Professor Julian Thomas (University of Manchester) and Susan Greaney (University of Exeter) to discuss megalithic structures.
Click here… Read more
Over the past few weeks, we have looked at expedient architecture - the idea that some Neolithic buildings were hastily built, perhaps dismantled or simply left to become ruinous. This is not restricted to structures. Read more
As I write this, there’s a light dusting of snow covering Orkney’s West Mainland.
It’s been quite a few years since we had a major covering of snow – December… Read more
We finished last week with George Marwickβs claimed βold nameβ for the Ring of Brodgar β Howastedgarth. I first stumbled across it in 2012, in a transcription of a talk given by Marwick. Read more
With a diameter of 103.6m (340ft), the Ring of Brodgar is the larger of the two stone circles in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site and one of the biggest in the British Isles. Read more
In 2012, Jim Richardson visited the Ness to capture images for a planned National Geographic feature article.
The resultant images were truly awe-inspiring and today, thanks to Jim’s generosity, we’re… Read more
Previously we saw that the Dyke of Sean was perhaps once one of three β or possibly four β walls that ran the width of the Ness of Brodgar in the Neolithic. Did these define specific areas β dividing the isthmus into distinct segments of βgradedβ space β and controlled movement and visibility through them? Read more
The Dyke of Sean, a suspected prehistoric earthwork near the Ring of Brodgar, fascinates visitors with its monumental size. It measures up to seven metres wide and a metre high, spanning 500 meters between the Stenness and Harray lochs. Despite unclear dating, masonry suggests a Neolithic origin. Read more
Archaeological work in south-west Wales has pushed the Ring of Brodgar back to fifth place in the list of largest stone circles in the British Isles.
Four stones remain at… Read more