purplecat: Averbury Stone Circle. A large stone close by and smaller markers leading away. (General:Prehistory)
purplecat ([personal profile] purplecat) wrote2022-09-04 08:21 pm
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Skara Brae


Grass covered sand dunes, revealing walls and sandy floors, in the centre a room with a hearth.

Skara Brae is a neolithic village, comprised of a group of dwelling with doorways opening onto a central passageway that was roofed over with stone slabs. It was excavated in the 1850s when a great storm blew away the top of the sand dunes that covered it, including the tough grass, making access to the site easy and it was quickly recognised as something special. I was introduced to it as a child through a book called The Boy with the Bronze Axe which, to my pleasure was available in the shop and is now on my to read pile.



Reproduction neolithic boat against a wall.
Reproduction Boat in a reproduction dwelling at the start.

Grass covered sand dunes, revealing a circular room.

Grass covered sand dunes, revealing walls and sandy floors

Grass covered sand dunes, revealing a curved wall leading into a dark entrance.

Grass covered sand dunes, revealing curved walls.

Grass covered sand dunes, revealing walls and sandy floors.

Grass covered sand dunes, revealing walls and sandy floors. A box-like bed structure can be seen.

A stone-walled room inside a sand dune, showing a dresser with two shelves and a central support.
We were particularly taken by the dressers, which appear in several of the houses. It feels such a universal thing. 4000 years ago people wanted somewhere in the centre of their room on which they could place their trinkets (and presumably other possessions that perhaps were more important than trinkets).

Looking down into a stone-walled room. Two box structures against the wall.
The box-like structures by the wall are thought to be beds. They would have been filled with straw and heather.

Looking down into a stone-walled room, showing a box bed and a dresser.

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isis: (hands)

[personal profile] isis 2022-09-04 07:47 pm (UTC)(link)
I find it interesting how much these look like Puebloan sites in the SW US - and how different they are in terms of climate and geography! I guess people are people.
purplecat: Averbury Stone Circle. A large stone close by and smaller markers leading away. (General:Prehistory)

[personal profile] purplecat 2022-09-05 08:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Details can really reach across the millennia to emphasise similarities. Though these people didn't have any metal working so I'm guessing there's quite a technological gap.
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[personal profile] senmut 2022-09-04 08:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh I love these photos!
purplecat: Averbury Stone Circle. A large stone close by and smaller markers leading away. (General:Prehistory)

[personal profile] purplecat 2022-09-05 08:11 pm (UTC)(link)
It's an amazing place.
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[personal profile] ilyena_sylph 2022-09-04 08:09 pm (UTC)(link)
These are amazing and gorgeous, thank you!
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[personal profile] purplecat 2022-09-05 08:12 pm (UTC)(link)
You're welcome.
deinonychus_1: (Default)

[personal profile] deinonychus_1 2022-09-06 12:30 pm (UTC)(link)
You're making me want to go to Skara Brae again! Although I was a teenager the last (and only) time I went, so I'm probably overdue a return visit.
purplecat: Averbury Stone Circle. A large stone close by and smaller markers leading away. (General:Prehistory)

[personal profile] purplecat 2022-09-07 12:59 pm (UTC)(link)
I think there is lots on Orkney that you would like!
deinonychus_1: (Default)

[personal profile] deinonychus_1 2022-09-08 05:02 pm (UTC)(link)
I went in the early 90s, and we saw Skara Brae, Ring of Brodgar and Maes Howe, all of which were awesome. Ufortunately, we were on one of those organised coach tours so I could have happily stayed for far longer than we actually got at all those sites. And Ness of Brodgar hadn't even been discovered at that time.

A return visit may need to be made at some point.
purplecat: Averbury Stone Circle. A large stone close by and smaller markers leading away. (General:Prehistory)

[personal profile] purplecat 2022-09-10 11:12 am (UTC)(link)
There are a ton of more minor sites that are pretty awesome too - hopefully I'll get around to blogging about them fairly soon!
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