Archaeology around the Ness of Brodgar

The Ring of Brodgar. (Sigurd Towrie)

Howastedgarth – the old name for the Ring of Brodgar?

We finished last week with George Marwick’s claimed “old name” for the Ring of Brodgar – Howastedgarth. I first stumbled across it in 2012, in a transcription of a talk given by Marwick …
Unstan Stalled Cairn

Unstan stalled cairn

In the late 19th century, the Knowe of Onston was opened and found to contain the remains of a Neolithic stalled cairn …
Stones of Stenness, Orkney

The Stones of Stenness

The second stone circle in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage site is now most commonly known as the Stones of Stenness …
Winter snow. (Sigurd Towrie)

The Stones of Stenness – part two

In December 1814, disaster struck the Stones of Stenness when a tenant farmer took it upon himself to obliterate them …
Maeshowe interior. (Jim Richardson)

Maeshowe

Probably the best-known Neolithic chambered cairn in Orkney, Maeshowe stands less than a mile to the east of the Ness of Brodgar complex …
Maeshowe (Sigurd Towrie)

Maeshowe – part two

The solstice, an earlier building and standing stone and Norse runes …
Hearth in Maeshowe featured image

A hearth in Maeshowe?

Back in 2016, a nineteenth century sketch had us pondering whether there might be more to Maeshowe than we see today …
The Barnhouse Settlement, Stenness, Orkney. (Nick Card)

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 …
Barnhouse Settlement - House 2

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 …
The reconstructed Structure Eight at Barnhouse. (Sigurd Towrie)

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 …