Skara Brae

Have you ever wanted to travel back in time? Perhaps even further back than when the pyramids were built, just to try to catch a glimpse of how our distant ancestors may have lived? At Skara Brae, this is just about possible. Skara Brae is an ancient prehistoric settlement that was discovered on Orkney when a storm unearthed it in 1850. It consists of a number of houses that were inhabited for a total of around 600 years starting around 3000 BC. These houses were built into an existing midden (i.e. a tip) which served as a kind of insulation for the houses - a necessity out on cold and windswept Orkney! There are 8 houses there and archaeologist think ...  Read the complete review

Skara Brae is one of the most famous neolithic sites in Scotland, if not the United Kingdom, and dates from around 3000BC which is also one of the earliest sites that we have. The site has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Sight. Skara Brae was uncovered when a storm on Orkney ripped grass and turf off a bit of the hill (brae) along the beach of the main island in 1850. Gradually it was excavated and a number of houses revealed, and a sea wall built to try and protect the site from erosion and storm damage as it is in danger of collapsing entirely onto the beach and sea. What was discovered was a village dating from 3200BC-2500BC and one of the best ...  Read the complete review