The History of Skara Brae

By Catherine Rose

Situated along the coast at the Bay of Skaill, roughly between Stromness and Birsay on the little Scottish island of Orkney, stand the ruins of a Neolithic village called Skara Brae. A UNESCO World Heritage site managed by Historic Scotland, it is the most well-preserved village of its age in Europe.

The ancient site of Skara Brae is approximately 5,000 years old and so well preserved that it is possible to get a real and rare glimpse into how our ancient ancestors lived in 3000 BC – long before even Stonehenge and the Pyramids of Giza were built. Ten dwellings have been uncovered at Skara Brae, and eight of them were apparently homes. When the village was first built, the houses would not have been on the coast as they are today, but some distance inland. Coastal erosion over the centuries means that they now overlook the beach. The village was inhabited between 3100 BC and 2500 BC probably by successive generations of families, until it was abandoned. Although it has been dubbed the ‘Pompei of Scotland’, it is unlikely that a catastrophic event occurred which led to its abandonment and subsequent preservation, as no skeletons have been unearthed there, suggesting that the lifestyle of its people gradually changed and they eventually decided to move on elsewhere. It is recorded that the village was discovered after a particularly bad storm on Orkney in 1850. The storm washed away a large sand mound called Skerrabra, which was hiding a group of immaculately preserved circular stone structures complete with beds and other stone furnishings still intact inside. William Watt, the landowner, who was living at Skail House nearby, began excavations and on realising the importance of the find contacted George Petrie, the island’s well-known antiquarian. All the finds at the site were subsequently meticulously catalogued and included beads, tools (particularly knives and scrapers) and objects that historians have only been able to speculate on but were possibly either devotional or recreational. A set of what look like dice were amongst the discoveries. All the objects were carved or made from stone, bone, tusks, animal teeth and wood. There was also pottery. Petrie eventually abandoned the excavations and, following looting and weather damage, the site was taken under the protection of the Ministry of Works in the 1920s. Initially it was believed that Skara Brae was a Pictish village. However, radiocarbon dating in the 1970s identified it as being much older, confirming that it was constructed during the Neolithic Period (or New Stone Age).

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The ancient buildings are made from flat stones that have been layered on top of each other and set into the mud, drystone wall fashion. Some of the walls, which would originally have been around eight feet high, were clearly more skilfully constructed than others, suggesting different levels of ability in the builders. The spaces between the earth and the stones were filled with ‘midden’ – basically the organic rubbish produced from day-to-day living such as animal bone and shells. The round dwellings are linked by narrow brick-lined and roofed passageways. They would have been very dark and filled with smoke but also quite warm. One of the most remarkable things about Skara Brae is that the furnishings of the homes are still intact, including beds, dressers, and chairs. Each circular dwelling has a similar layout, with one ‘living room’ containing a hearth for cooking and warmth, a stone dresser and built-in stone ‘box’ beds to the sides complete with headboards. These were probably lined with straw and animal skins. Floor space in each dwelling was around forty square metres. Due to the lack of trees and scarcity of wood on the island at that time, it is possible that peat was burned in the hearths as peat ash has been found amongst the midden. The settlement even had indoor toilets and drainage, which ran from each hut into a main sewer. It is believed that the largest structure was used as a workshop due to the fact it has no hearth or beds. The houses would have originally had a turf roof. Today, one of the dwellings has had its roof replaced, partly to protect it and partly to show how it would have looked. There is also a mock-up of a complete dwelling next to the museum at the site. Some of the homes are newer than others suggesting that generations of families lived here and built new houses on top of the old. Pottery and clay fragments found here show that the people used what is known as ‘groove ware’ – straight-sided pots and bowls decorated with grooves in patterns that have become synonymous with Orkney. The inhabitants clearly farmed and kept livestock as well as hunting and fishing. No weapons were found, suggesting the people led a relatively peaceful life. But it is likely that we will never know what they called themselves or the language they spoke, as no written records exist. Due to its remoteness, Orkney has a wealth of ancient sites including its famous standing stones and numerous burial mounds. This beautiful little island may yet be hiding many more ancient archaeological secrets.

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