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The Orkney Riddle

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   The Orkney Riddle   An Introduction   I have called my story the Orkney Riddle. In it, I speak of Neolithic Orkney, and the way in which I believe that, in prehistoric time, that archipelago was attached, and later detached from Scotland. This title might be thought to relate to some puzzle about Orkney that I try to extract meaning from, but in fact it is simpler than that. I called it the Orkney Riddle because there is a shallow water feature associated with the Pentland Firth called the Sandy Riddle that could very well be all that remains of a strand of beach that linked Neolithic Orkney to Caithness.     To explore the possibility that (in my opinion) there had to be a walkable route from Caithness to Orkney when Neolithic people built the henges there, I had to research several areas of our knowledge and understanding. Firstly, I would look for evidence in Neolithic Orkney, of whatever sort, that denoted a change in human occupation, or in ani...
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Pentland Firth

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  The Pentland Firth  The Pentland Firth is the channel of water that separates the Orkney archipelago from Caithness,  the northern most county of Scotland. It is deep, wide, and famously dangerous to cross,  even with modern boats and navigation systems. From the ferry crossing from Caithness to South Ronaldsay interesting surface phenomena indicate what is happening beneath the hull of the boat. Flat shiny areas of water commonly suggest an upwelling mix of currents , while whirlpools imply water being drawn down into the murky deeps.   "The Pentland Firth’s eastern approach hosts intricate sediment transport pathways. Time-averaging the modelled flow field revealed the recirculatory nature of the residual flow also reflected by the inferred sediment transport field identified via timeseries bathymetric analysis.  The Pentland Firth (PF), located between mainland Scotland and Orkney, is an area of the UK continental shelf (UKCS) that experiences extreme ...
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So This is Orkney

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      So, This is Orkney .  A straggling group of islands off the north coast of Scotland  Hoy, and the Old Man of Hoy. The Churchill Barriers The block ships, scuttled to prevent German submarines from entering Scapa Flow during WW2. The Italian Chapel,  built by Italian prisoners of war, while theybuilt the Churchill Barriers during WW2. Stromness,  Orkney's second town. Stromness,  again Kirkwall's main business town, and one of three major ports. Kirkwall ba' outside the cathedral, a wild, confusing , and exilerating ball scrum through the streets of the town.  Abandoned WW2 structures Cliffs and beaches  Sunsets Rackwick Bay More sunsets Haar More Haar The Ring of Brodgar  The Ness of Brodgar  The Stones of Stenness  Skara Brae That's Orkney!  (In summer!) "A Bizarre Idea " What's the Story " Neolithic Migrants to Orkney " The story of the First, Founding Immigrants to Orkney  But " They must have had boats...
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Ice-sheet Britain

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  Ice-sheet Britain  This is an attempt to contribute to a better understanding of how the topography of Britain was created by the presence of thick ice-sheets on its surface through multiple cold periods, over many millions of years.  Understanding the geological processes of recent prehistory maps out where land may have existed; land which is now completely absent. This might suggest how people,  plants, trees, and animals may have been able to migrate across to Britain from continental Europe.  The map above  is a topographic rendering of the land surface of Britain.  It demonstrates that the group of islands that make up the British Isles are adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, at their northwestern approach. Significant features in the topography are the mountains of Scotland, Northern England, Wales,  Cornwall,  and Ireland. These mountains are sliced by valleys, and some locations are defined by these features.  For instance, the "T...
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