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Skara Brae is one of the World's most remarkable ancient historical sites and is Northern Europe's best preserved Neolithic village. It is over 5000 years old, making it older than the pyramids at Giza.
It is located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, Orkney and was discovered after a severe storm in 1850 when the powerful weather stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll known as "Skerrabra". William Watt of Skaill, the local laird, carried out an initial amateur excavation over the next few years, but then work was abandoned. Unfortunately in 1913 the site (which had had no further examination) was plundered and an unknown quantity of irreplaceable artefacts were removed never to be recovered. Another storm in 1924 damaged the site, and it was belatedly decided that the site should be protected and investigated. Professor V. Gordon Childe of Edinburgh University commenced the first proper archaeological investigation in 1927.
Childe estimated the date of the dwellings to be c.500BC, but radio-carbon dating after new excavations in 1972–73 revised this date dramatically back to c.3180 BC with human habitation here for the next 600 or so years.
Despite the plundering of 1913, many artefacts have been recovered revealing information about the people who lived here and their handicraft and designs. The most remarkable thing about the site however is the view it gives us into the homes of these ancient people, with their stone-built 'cupboards', bed areas and other fitments.
There is plenty of information on the web about Skara Brae - here are a few useful links:
CANMORE website: Link
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Link
HES (Visiting info): Link
WIKIPEDIA Link
Plan photo: HY2318 : Skara Brae - Plan on plinth

Created: Thu, 26 Aug 2021, Updated: Thu, 28 Oct 2021