So This is Orkney

     



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" mustn't they?

"The Pentland Firth"

"Walkable land in the North Sea" describes evidence that walkable land was present between Norfolk and Holland at a time when prehistoric people were occupying northern Europe. 

The "Swifterbant Culture"

"Archaeology in the North Sea" looks at the elusive evidence that the Orkney Vole could have walked from Caithness to South Ronaldsay. 

"3000BC" gives detailed evidence of tsunami events on the Norwegian Coast.

 "A Brief Guide to the Last Glaciation" How did the North Sea develop?

"Mainland Settlements" discusses and dates the early settlements across mainland Orkney.

"Barnhouse" describes this "Neolithic Village" a substantial group of Neolithic structures on the shore of Harray Loch. 

"Barnhouse Sweat Lodge" describes Structure 8, the Sweat Lodge at Barnhouse.

"Modern Sweat Lodge Practices" describes present day Sweat Lodge ceremonies.

"The Stones of Stenness" describes anomalies in the settings of the stones that formed the stone circle.

"The Ring of Brodgar" discusses just how many stones are there, or are not there, at the Ring of Brodgar. 

 "A Custom Among the Lower Class of People" , about 18th century Orkney people and the Stones at Brodgar. 

"Maeshowe, a Wonder of the Neolithic World" is the personal account of the excavation of the Maeshowe Cairn by the man who excavated it. I include it because it is so personal, not because it adds anything to our understanding. 

"Cairns of Orkney" is the commentary of several antiquarian archaeologists writing in previous centuries as they excavated Cairns in England, Scotland, and Orkney. Although these cairns may not have been excavated to a high standard, the commentary provided in these reports is, in my view, very personal, and highly approachable. 

"Cairns and the People in them" examines the bones of the people who were laid in cairns, and tells their stories.

"Dem Bones, Dem Bones" looks at the bones of Neolithic people, 

"The Westrays" describes the Knap of Howar settlement, and the desolation of the islands that were found by the people of the Links of Noltland when they settled there at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. 

"Skara Brae, RCAHMS" is the official description of the Neolithic "Village"

"Skara Brae, Excavation", is an account of the excavation of Hut 7 in 1927. This is an interesting personal account of the Gordon Childe's Excavation by J Wilson Paterson.

"Dating Skara Brae" gives detailed dating evidence for Skara Brae 

"The Ness of Brodgar Excavation" an account of the excavation , before 2020, by Nick Card. 

"Dating the Ness of Brodgar" gives Dating evidence for the dating of the Ness of Brodgar 

"The Orkney Vole" discusses the evidence that the Orkney Vole migrated from Europe to Orkney without setting foot on mainland Britain. 

Bere Barley, a Neolithic grain derivations of Bere Barley. 

"Aurochs", analysing the bones of Neolithic Orcadian cattle

"Concluding" , some simple remarks in conclusion.

"Finally" closing remarks.

"Sources"


Geology

Ice-sheet Britain talks about the glacial processes that carved the landscape of Britain. 

Relative sea-level  is about the way sea-level has been affected by ice volumes on northern European ice-sheets. 

Jeffery Nicholls 

Orkney 

Jiffynorm@yahoo.co.uk 



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