ORKNEY’S ANCIENT STONE SOCIETIES

The Orkney's

Approximately six miles off the tip of Scotland ’s rugged northern coast lies the alluring Orkney Islands boasting an unrivalled collection of ancient remains that include stone circles, burial tombs, village settlements, craggy isolated standing stones and more.   Each one reveals part of the riveting history of this island’s past.

On top of these attractions there is also, of course, the scenery.  The 570 miles of rugged coastline is partly backed by huge red cliffs sheltering vast, sandy beaches.  Then there are the sweeping estuaries and lochs, the grassy hills and dramatic views across Orkney’s other 70 islands and skerries.  It is the sort of place that “blows the mind” and provides all who visit with a great deal of food for thought long after returning home.

This article centres on Orkney’s 5000 year old Neolithic Heartland, a unique collection of ancient monuments in the care of the National trust.  Declared a World heritage site in 1999, these remains illustrate how people lived and survived during those dark times.  Believe me, you will not see anything to compare with them in the whole of Europe .

“But how” you may ask, “does one get to Orkney to see them?”   It is possible, of course, to travel up by car, coach or rail to Scotland ’s north coast and board a ferry to Orkney.  My advice, however, is to fly Easyjet from Luton to Inverness and, from there, board a British Airways connecting plane to Kirkwall, Orkney’s capital town.   Here, accommodation is plentiful but book before you go and car hire is available.  Alternatively, it is possible to join daily guided coach tours from your hotel.

Orkney’s countryside is pleasantly undulating, green and rural and much of the coastline is fringed by vast sandy bays which, I am assured, are never crowded even in the height of summer.  For various reasons, my visit took place in January when raging gales whipped the seas into a frenzy.  I thought this added drama to the entire experience but others will, no doubt, prefer to visit during the summer or autumn when, if you’re lucky, vast areas of the landscape may be covered in glorious, purple heather.

The first monument I visited was 5000 year old Maeshowe Chambered Tomb, one of the finest and oldest in northern Europe , actually predating the Egyptian pyramids!   It lies beneath a grassy mound amid fields and is reached by bending low and creeping along a 14.5 metre long, stone-lined passage.  It is thought to have been a place where people lived, worked and honoured their dead and, built into the huge stone walls, are side cells where human bones were once stored.

Inside Maeshowe  Runes

In the 12C AD the Vikings broke into this tomb leaving a variety of strange but fascinating artistic carvings and runic inscriptions on the walls.  These graffiti are virtually impossible to understand (even by knowledgeable experts!) but they certainly add to the air of mystery.

Thirteen miles north, the Broch of Gurness (a broch is a village) was discovered in 1929 also under a grassy mound.  Dating, it is thought, from the 1^st century, it is surrounded by a deep circular ditch and was once surrounded by a high wall.  Like many other brochs throughout Scotland , it lies close to the  sea which provided means for transport and supplies of food.

The broch is dominated by a ruined tower with the remains of small stone houses clustered around it.  Five information panels explain the plan of this remarkable village with descriptions of each building and the way of life of the people who once lived there.

Dramatically set amid undulating grass-covered hills between the lochs of Stenness and Harray, the Ring of Brodgar which lies just off the B9055, stands dramatically on the skyline.   This stone-circle is said to have been built for ritual theatre and spectacle and originally comprised a ring of 60 tall fingers of stone pointing to the sky.

 Ring of Brodgar 

There is an abundance of standing stones in this area including another small ring of stones nearby – The Standing Stone of Stenness.  It is thought this was once a popular area for Orkney’s Neolithic and Bronze Age inhabitants to gather to celebrate relationships.

I have saved recounting my visit to Skara Brae, (the village comprising the remains of five houses dating from the Stone Age) until the end of this article because it was, without doubt, the highlight of the trip.   It lies on the west coast, 19 miles from Kirkwall off the B9056 and comprises five semi-subterranean house clustered on the edge of the Bay of Skaill.  Fo0r roughly 5000 years this village lay buried beneath a mound of midden (a mixture of decomposed vegetable matter, animal dung, broken animal bones, stones and shells).  In 1850 the site was revealed when a massive storm exposed these five houses which had lain buried for centuries.

Skara Brae

From Skara Brae Visitor Centre one walks across a field to reach this cluster of five houses which are encircled by pathways.   One can gaze down into the actual rooms where they lived, still furnished with stone beds, a dresser, hearth lintels, boxes and the occasional shelves built into the rock walls.

Each house has a central square marked out for the fire, vital for cooking food and keeping warm.  Fuel would have been midden, a mixture of animal dung and vegetation, heather, bracken and dried sea-weed.   “But what did they eat?” you may ask.  Early man lived off plants, hunted animals and fishing and probably collecting herbs, fruits and nuts.   Eight information panels given details into their lives.

You may wonder if there is anything other than ancient remains on Orkney!  Indeed there are and one of them is that glittering stretch of water known as Scapa Flow – a 50 mile expense of deep water sheltered by other islands and used by ships as a safe haven since pre-history.

Nevertheless, readers may recall the occasions when our battleship, The Royal Oak, was destroyed by a German u-boat in October 1939 with the deaths of 833 sailors.  This tragedy forced the construction of the Churchill Barriers – huge blockades of stone and concrete laid on the sea bed between the islands, to stop enemy craft from entering these inland waters again.   To drive across the one and a half mile causeway built on top of the blocks is a moving experience.

Another inspiring visit is to see Orkney’s exquisite Italian Chapel at Lambholm, built by Italian prisoners of war during WW2.   They achieved this by placing two Nissen huts end to end, joining them together and creating the interior themselves with whatever materials they could find.  The result is an ornate and exquisite replica of a typical chapel you might see anywhere in Italy today.

Italian Chapel      
Kirkwall at dusk

Don’t miss Orkney’s capital town, Kirkwall , it is an excellent example of an ancient Norse town with narrow paved wynds.  Imposing St Magnus Cathedral in the town centre dates from 1137 and encompasses three building styles – Romanesque, Traditional and Gothic.   In the Orkney Museum in Broad Street the story of Orkney from the Stone Age through the Picts and Vikings to the present day, is told imaginatively through various exhibits.

No article on Orkney would be complete without mention of the marvellous local foods available in hotels, restaurants, cafes and bard.   Ask for dishes using their marvellous home-grown beef, lamb, cheese and, above all, their freshly caught sea-food.   

Honey mustard & dill salmon  Seafood

To quote an example, I dined on my last night last the Foveran Restaurant in the parish of St Ola overlooking Scapa Harbour .  The menu included Deep Fried Squid followed by Orkney Salmon with Red Pepper sauce and Orkney Fudge Ice Cream.  Beat that!

Wherever you go on Orkney, you will feel the power of the sea and the magnetism of its history.  Over and above all other ancient remains I have visited throughout the world, none has moved me more deeply than those on Orkney.   Is this, I wonder, because the Stone Age people who once lived there are our very own ancestors?

FURTHER INFORMATION

Send for the free informative brochure entitled ORKNEY (address below) which gives full details on how to get there by road, train, sea or air along with details of accommodation in B & Bs, Hotels and Inns, Self Catering, Camping, Caravanning and Hostels. Also included is information on car hire, coach tours, places to visit and eating out.

Contact:­

Kirkwall Visitor Information Centre,     6 Broad Street , Kirkwall ,      Orkney KW15 INX

Tel: 01856 872856

e-mail info@visitorkney.com

web site www.visitorkney.com/island

I stayed at:

The Ayre Hotel, ,  Ayre Road ,    Kirkwall ,    Orkney KW15 1QX

Te1:01856-873001

e-mail <ayrehotel@btconnect.com>

web site www.ayrehotel.co.uk

Price for 2 people when sharing a twin bedded room with breakfast is £100 per night.

I dined at:

The Foveran Restaurant St ,   Ola Orkney

Tel:: 01856 872389

E-mail <foveranhotel@aol.com

www.foveran.co.uk/restaurant

  (4/7/07)