Skara Brae, Europe's Most Complete Neolithic Village. The History & Excavation. Orkney, Scotland.

#SkaraBrae #NeolithicVillage #StoneAgeVillage #OrkneyNeolithicVillage #HeartOfNeolithicOrkney

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Skara Brae was inhabited before the Egyptian Pyramids were built and had flourished for centuries before construction began at Stonehenge.
The structures of this village survive in impressive conditions, even the furniture of the houses has been preserved remarkably well.

There’s no other place in Northern Europe where we are able to see such rich evidence of how our prehistoric ancestors actually lived.

Skara Brae is located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, the largest of the Orkney Islands in Scotland.
Orkney is an archipelago in the northern isles of Scotland and has about 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited.

Skara Brae is one of Four sites making up “The heart of Neolithic Orkney” and are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The other 3 are:
Maes Howe
Standing Stones of Stenness
And the Ring of Brodgar.

Skara Brae was inhabited for approximately 600 years, between 3180 BCE and 2500 BCE.

In Orkney there was a shortage of wood, so the people of Skara Brae had to work with the only building material available to them, which was stone.

There are many theories as to why the people of Skara Brae left, most popular interpretations involve a major storm or disaster.

This is due to the fact that it has been so well preserved that it often gets compared to Pompeii.
Pompeii had been abandoned and completely covered by ash following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Skara Brae had been covered by sand for over 4000 years, thus protecting and preserving the buildings and their contents incredibly well.

In the winter of 1850 a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and the loss of over 200 lives.

In the bay of Skaill the storm with an exceptionally high tide stripped the grass from a large mound then known as Skerrabra.

When the storm cleared some local villagers found the outline of a village consisting of a number of small houses without roofs.

The local Laird, William Watt of Skaill began an amateur excavation at the site, but after 4 houses were uncovered the work was abandoned in 1868.

The site then remained undisturbed until 1913, when in a single weekend the site was plundered by people who took away an unknown quantity of artefacts.

Another storm swept away part of one of the houses in 1925 and it was determined that the site should be secured and properly investigated.

Professor and archaeologist Vere Gordon Childe was called upon to professionally excavate and preserve the site.

Radiocarbon results indicate that occupation of Skara Brae began around 3180 BCE.
After the climate changed, becoming much colder and wetter around 2500 BCE the settlement had been abandoned.

Unfortunately – after almost 50 years – the results of this latest excavation has never been published.
And after all this time, we still don’t know what the findings were besides the given radiocarbon dates.

The inhabitants of Skara Brae were makers and users of Grooved Ware Pottery.
Grooved Ware originates from Orkney around the 3rd millennium BCE.

The houses were constructed into mounds known as middens.

If you travel to Scotland and you are able to go to the Orkney islands, please make sure to visit Skara Brae and be mesmerized by the way the Ancient inhabitants lived.

Footage Megalithomania: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n29TmCfEwXc

Sources:
http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/skarabrae/
https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/skara-brae-prehistoric-village-p247671
https://www.ancient.eu/Skara_Brae/
https://www.orkneyology.com/skara-brae.html
https://www.orkneystonetools.org.uk/gallery?body_value=&category=5%2B9%2B82&page=4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._Gordon_Childe#Excavations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skara_Brae
Richards, Colin (1993) An archaeological study of Neolithic Orkney : architecture, order and social classification. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

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