The Ness of Brodgar is an archaeological site covering 2.5 hectares (6.2 acres) on the island of Orkney, Scotland. The site has provided evidence of decorated stone slabs, a stone wall 6 metres (20 ft) thick with foundations, and a large building described as a Neolithic temple. The earliest structures were built between 3,300 and 3,200 BC, and was occupied for around 1000 years before being abandoned circa 2,200 BC. It was the main subject of a 2016 BBC Scotland documentary, “Britain’s Ancient Capital: Secrets of Orkney”.
The entire area around the ancient city is still to this day covered in ancient stone age history. To the southeast are the Standing Stones of Stenness and to the north-west is the Ring of Brodgar. The Neolithic village at Skara Brae lies a few kilometres away. Skara Brae is a stone-built Neolithic settlement which was occupied from roughly 3180 BC to about 2500 BC and is Europe’s most complete Neolithic village. Skara Brae gained UNESCO World Heritage Site status as one of four sites making up “The Heart of Neolithic Orkney”. Older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza, it has been called the “Scottish Pompeii” because of its excellent preservation.
Skara Brae was discovered in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll known as “Skara Brae”. When the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. The houses included stone hearths, beds, and cupboards. A primitive sewer system, with “toilets” and drains in each house.
Around 2500 BC, after the climate changed, becoming much colder and wetter, Skara Brae was finally abandoned by its inhabitants.
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 early Egypt, 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
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The Ness of Brodgar is an archaeological site covering 2.5 hectares (6.2 acres) on the island of Orkney, Scotland. The site has provided evidence of decorated stone slabs, a stone wall 6 metres (20 ft) thick with foundations, and a large building described as a Neolithic temple. The earliest structures were built between 3,300 and 3,200 BC, and was occupied for around 1000 years before being abandoned circa 2,200 BC. It was the main subject of a 2016 BBC Scotland documentary, “Britain’s Ancient Capital: Secrets of Orkney”.
The entire area around the ancient city is still to this day covered in ancient stone age history. To the southeast are the Standing Stones of Stenness and to the north-west is the Ring of Brodgar. The Neolithic village at Skara Brae lies a few kilometres away. Skara Brae is a stone-built Neolithic settlement which was occupied from roughly 3180 BC to about 2500 BC and is Europe’s most complete Neolithic village. Skara Brae gained UNESCO World Heritage Site status as one of four sites making up “The Heart of Neolithic Orkney”. Older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza, it has been called the “Scottish Pompeii” because of its excellent preservation.
Skara Brae was discovered in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll known as “Skara Brae”. When the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. The houses included stone hearths, beds, and cupboards. A primitive sewer system, with “toilets” and drains in each house.
Around 2500 BC, after the climate changed, becoming much colder and wetter, Skara Brae was finally abandoned by its inhabitants.
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 early Egypt, 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
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