Category: Settlements
Skara Brae – the abandonment
The idea that Skara Brae was abandoned overnight in the face of a cataclysm is entirely incorrect. Unfortunately, like many myths surrounding the settlement, it is still often presented as indisputable fact. Read more
Skara Brae – the date and extent of the settlement
In 2017, a re-evaluation of Orcadian radiocarbon dates suggested that occupation at Skara Brae began around 2900BC, but was abandoned a short time later. The site was re-occupied between 2800-2700BC and finally abandoned around 2500BC. But are we seeing something else? Read more
Skara Brae – the houses
Skara Brae followed the pattern since noted at other Orcadian Neolithic settlements – houses were built, inhabited, abandoned and rebuilt, usually on the same site. Read more
Skara Brae
Hailed the best-preserved Neolithic village in northern Europe, Skara Brae stands on the southern shore of the Bay of Skaill, in Orkney’s West Mainland. Read more
Barnhouse – Structure Eight
Around 3000BC, some 200 years after the founding of the Barnhouse settlement, a “building of monumental proportions” was erected on the site of a meeting area on the village outskirts. Read more
Barnhouse – House Two
For three centuries the Barnhouse settlement was dominated by a structure unlike any of the others in the village. Labelled House Two, it was also unique among Neolithic buildings in Orkney until the Ness of Brodgar complex appeared on the scene in 2003. Read more
The Barnhouse Settlement
In December 1984, evidence of a Neolithic village was found 150 metres (164 yards) to the north of the Stones of Stenness, at the southern end of the Harray loch. Read more
Rivalries in Neolithic Orkney outlined in new ‘Antiquity’ study
A new study, published in the journal Antiquity, is challenging the previously understood narrative for Neolithic Orkney. Read more
