12/11/2024
When we got back from Westray we had originally hoped to get the ferry straight to Sanday. But there was no room for us until the following morning so we had an afternoon to fill, and our plan was to fill it with plenty of antiquities. The large number of Neolithic sites was one of the reasons we were so excited to be in Orkney. Older than Stonehenge, these sites represent a significant cultural centre in the UK that seems to have ended when the climate cooled and Orkney was no longer as fertile. The following leaner years and relative remoteness of the islands then contributed to the preservation of the sites, not ploughed over, built on top of, or raided for building materials to the same extent as in more populous areas.
Standing Stones and Ancient Villages
Unfortunately we were a couple of months too late to see the dig at the Ness of Brodgar, a 20 year excavation of a prehistoric village that has featured on programmes like Digging for Britain. When we walked past the site it had already been recovered with earth to preserve it for future archaeologists who may be able to use more advanced technology to understand more about our ancestors. We did get to see to the remains of the Barnhouse settlement, another Neolithic village nearby.
There are several sets of standing stones on Orkney and the Stones of Stenness were the first we visited. They are possibly the remains of the oldest stone circle in the UK. Only four of the original 12 stones are still upright. A couple were destroyed by a landowner in the 1800s who wanted to discourage the local population from using his land. He also destroyed the nearby ‘Odin Stone’ where locals used the hole in the stone to make binding oaths. The name of this stone is possibly a sign that Vikings used the stones for their own religious and ritual reasons many years after they were first raised.
We parked Bertie at the Stone of Stenness car park and walked across the causeway to the Ring of Brodgar. This stone circle is probably younger than the Stenness Stones but larger with many more stones still standing.
Maeshowe Chambered Cairn
The highlight of our afternoon was a visit to Maeshowe Chambered Cairn. You have to do this as part of a booked group tour. Luckily this came as part of our Historic Scotland membership and at this time of the year it was not busy. We parked at the limited parking by the visitor centre and took a look at the museum and shop while we waited for the bus to take us down the road.
The guided tour brings this mound of earth to life, providing lots of information about the construction of the ‘tomb’ and the many interpretations of it’s purpose. From the inside you can see that it is expertly crafted from precisely carved stone, creating a large central chamber big enough for several people to stand upright, surrounded by three large ‘niches’ and a single entrance tunnel that aligns perfectly with the setting sun on the winter solstice. The tour guide illuminated and translated the Viking carvings on the wall, inscribed by bored Norsemen who used the cairn as shelter during a snowstorm.
Sadly no photos could be taken inside the cairn, so here are a couple of pictures from outside showing the entrance.
Back to Kirkwall
Once we’d had our fill of the ancient and mysterious ‘Heart of Neolithic Orkney’ we headed back to Kirkwall to overnight in the car park ready for our early morning ferry to Sanday.