Orkney Riddler

Series Title:- Orkney Riddle 21/29 Blog Title:- The Ness of Brodgar Excavation   Trench P, which includes Structure 10 While, in recent times, the stone circles of Stenness and Brodgar were a present reminder of times past for Orkney folk, Barnhouse was unknown, and completely hidden from view. So also was the Ness of Brodgar, which is now one of the most exciting archaeology projects to explore Neolithic Britain, in recent years. It is directed by Nick Card, and is best described by him, as follows. “ The Ness of Brodgar (Fig. 49) sits on the south eastern tip of the Brodgar isthmus separating the Loch of Harray to the east, and the Loch of Stenness to the west, at the centre of the large natural bowl of hills of the West Mainland of Orkney. From it the Ring of Brodgar (0.75 km to the NW), the Stones of Stenness (0.5 km to the SE) and Maeshowe (1.5 km to the E) are clearly visible. On the south side of the Bridge of Brodgar, barely 300 m distant, is the Neolithic settlement of B...

  Series Title:- Orkney Riddle 12/29 Blog Title:- Modern Sweat Lodge Practices At Barnhouse,  Structure 8 has good evidence that it was built to function as a sweat Lodge. There may be as many as three other sweat lodges on the Orkney Archipelago.  Sweat Lodges in present cultures may help us to understand better the culture of Neolithic people in Orkney.  “ Sweat lodges are heated dome-shaped structures used by Indigenous peoples during certain purification rites and as a way to promote healthy living. The intense heat generated — often by steam created from pouring water onto heated rocks — is meant to encourage a sweating out of toxins and negative energy that create disorder and imbalance in life. In this way, the sweat lodge ceremony cleanses the body, mind and soul. Each sweat lodge is slightly different, depending on the community or person who operates it, and the purpose for which it is used. For example, some sweat lodge ceremonies are restricted to men, wo...

Series Title:- Orkney Riddle 11/29 Blog Title:- The Barnhouse Sweat Lodge Structure 8 Some time after the initial establishment of the Barnhouse Settlement, this building was added, Structure 8. The inner part of Structure 8, the near-square building, is surrounded by a clay platform within the circular surrounding wall.   Stone hearths, boxes, pits, and spreads of ash suggest that the outer clay platform around the outside of the square building was used for a range of activities, that might have included cooking and food preparation Barnhouse, Structure 8, plan   Barnhouse, Structure 8, entrance The above photograph shows the entrance into Structure 8 with a fire hearth in the foreground, and what may or may not be a second hearth in the middle of the room beyond.  The stonework has been designed to survive Orkney weather, but it does not accurately depict the design of the building that Neolithic people built.  The above image shows a plan of the entrance to ...

Series Title:- The Orkney Riddle 6/29 Blog Title:- Walkable Land in the North Sea There is an area of shallow sea that links Holland with East Anglia. It is likely that this passage would have provided walkable land between England and Holland until a time when Neolithic people were exploring Northern Europe.  The bathymetry chart above indicates this broad area of shallow water joining Lincolnshire, and Norfolk, in England to Holland. Elsewhere, to the south of this region deep water gullies would have prevented any migration by animals, people, or plants. The Norfolk Banks (above) are a series of ridges on the floor of the North Sea, beside the Norfolk coast. Detailed chart, above shows bathymetry of ridges and troughs of the Norfolk   The location of this section of the Norfolk Banks, above, is indicated on the plan above it. The main features of the Norfolk Banks that can be seen in the plan and section are as follows  1- the high ridges of these banks are parallel ...

Series Title:- Orkney Riddle 14/29  Blog Title:- The Ring of Brodgar  " The monument (Ring of Brodgar) comprises a massive ceremonial enclosure, or ‘henge’; its rock-cut ditch (c.123m diameter) encircling a platform with an impressive stone circle set around its circumference. It is thought to date to between 2600 and 2000 BC and is carefully and prominently sited on an isthmus between two lochs on Mainland Orkney.The stone circle has a diameter of c.103m with 21 stones currently standing erect, but it is thought to have originally incorporated 60 monoliths. The individual stones have a mixed history: some are lost, several are represented only by stumps or packing stones, while others still lie where they fell or were pushed; a number of stones were re-erected by the Ministry of Works at the start of the 20th century, while the remainder have stood through the test of time. One stone carries a Norse runic inscription, and at least one other has been struck by lightning. In th...

Series Title:- Orkney Riddle 27/29 Blog Title:-  Finally, what really happened in prehistoric Britain? This is a question that will have to be answered by proper archaeologists. What is clear though is, in the specific culture of Neolithic Orkney, the people who inhabited the area and built the monuments were nomadic, and travelled to Orkney from Scotland, England, and perhaps France on an annual basis, moving from a winter base to a summer base . The people who built the henges were not farmers or agriculturalists. They were opportunists and would eat almost anything that didn't try to eat them. In modern terms they were shepherds, but it is very unlikely that they fenced any livestock. They had dogs to take care of the sheep they adopted. Considering that the people were temporary occupants of Orkney it is unlikely that cairns were intended for housing dead people, and we would probably be better advised to dream up a purpose for these monuments that might have been of use to vis...

  Series Title:- Orkney Riddle 25/29 Blog Title:- The Westrays   The Knap of Howar Probably the earliest settlement on the Orkney Archipelago is the Knap of Howar. A Pig bone was found there dated to 3630–3360 (OxA-17778)  The Knap of Howar sits on a small island called Papa Westray which is one of the northernmost islands of the Orkney group. The island is almost 7 km long and 2 km wide, and the Knap of Howar lies on its west coast.  Papa Westray is one of a group of islands that are separated from the mainland Orkney group by the Westray and Stronsay Firths. The main islands of this group are Westray, Papa Westray, Sanday, North Ronaldsay, and Stronsay.  The two oblong buildings of the Knap of Howar, are thought to represent a dwelling-house and a multipurpose workshop-cum-barn, built side by side with an interconnecting passage allowing access from one to the other.  Excavation revealed traces of a central hearth, footings for wooden benches and post-hol...

  Series Title:- Orkney Riddle 9/29 Blog Title:- Mainland Settlements  Sizeable and solid structures in Neolithic Orkney are the cairns, the Knap of Howar, and the complex later structures of Skara Brae and the Ness of Brodgar. In contrast to these are the earlier settlements  which all seem to be shallow and fragile. The Knowes of Trotty is a settlement on the Bay of Firth, Orkney Mainland. The excavated house is part of a group of eleven mounds, situated at the foot of the steep west slopes of the Ward of Redland. It features a large rectangular hearth, and a small external paved annexe with work areas including an area for pottery manufacture. All 7 carbon samples at this site are likely to pre-date 3000BC  (Nick Card, Jane Downes and Paul Sharman, 2006.)  Excavation at seven other habitation sites delivered samples that are dated to before 3000BC. They are the Stonehall group, Stonehall Knoll, Stonehall Meadow, and Stonehall Farm, on the Bay of Firth, and no...