Sites Around the World: Skara Brae

Skara Brae home

Of the coast of Scotland in the Orkney Isles are the well-preserved remains of the Neolithic village Skara Brae. The organized housing complexes contain what can only be described as “fitted furniture.” These closely built [nearly identical] homes of the Neolithic farming community have a dresser, central hearth (fireplace), box beds, and a tank that may have been for fishing bait. These homes also had stone doors (a possible symbol for privacy and security). Based on the lack of evidence of weapons, this was a very peaceful and secure community.

From left to right: House 9 (visible hearth), House 8 (stone walls), House 1 (furniture remains) 

Skara Brae is the best preserved Neolithic village in Northern Europe. “In 1850 a violent storm ravaged the Bay of Skaill in the Orkney Isles to the north-east of mainland Scotland, revealing the Neolithic village of Skara Brae buried beneath the sand dunes. It is the best preserved Neolithic village in northern Europe and it offers us a unique window into the lives of the farmers who lived there between 3,200 and 2,500 BC. Skara Brae's remarkable survival through the ages is thanks to the design of the original builders who buried the stone-slab walls up to roof level in clay soil and waste material in order to provide insulation and protection from the elements” (BBC). This type of tightly knit and communal village life is unusual for early farming communities; there seems to have been little room for “non-conformists.”

Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site

Skara Brae is part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, which also includes:

• A large chambered tomb, Maes Howe;
• Two ceremonial stone circles, the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar;
• Together with several unexcavated burial, ceremonial, and settlement sites.

These Orkney monuments are the only records we have of the indigenous cultural tradition, which flourished 500-1,000 years and disappeared around 2,000 BCE. UNESCO states in “The Heart of Neolithic Orkney, “They are testimony to the cultural achievements of the Neolithic peoples of northern Europe, during the period 3000-2000 BC.”

Visiting Skara Brae

Those who wish to visit Skara Brae can tour the original homes as well as a reconstructed version that shows visitors what Neolithic life was like; plus in the Visitor Center, you can explore the site’s history with touchscreen presentations, fact-finding quizzes for children and adults, and see artifacts discovered during the 1970s excavations.

For Further Reading:

• "Heart of Neolithic Orkney." by UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 
• "Skara Brae." on Historvious.
• "Skara Brae Prehistoric Village." by Historic Scotland. Historic Scotland
• Towrie, Sigurd. "Skara Brae - The Discovery and Excavation of Orkney's Finest Neolithic Settlement." on Orkneyjar. 

Image Credits: Wknight94 via Wikimedia Commons (CC)

About the Author

I'm Melanie, the founder of BermudaQuest and an archaeology undergraduate at the University of New Mexico. I love writing about ancient and modern cultures. My goal is to make information about our origins available to everyone [in simple English!]