The Ness of Brodgar and the Arrival of the Indo-Europeans in Orkney
The Indo-Europeans strike again!
Ring of Brodgar, Stromness, Orkney, Scotland.
A Journey Through Scotland's Ancient Sites
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RING OF BRODGAR
STROMNESS
ORKNEY MAINLAND
SCOTLAND
THE RING OF BRODGAR IS THE MAJESTIC CROWN OF PREHISTORIC SCOTLAND. LOCATED AT THE NESS OF BRODGAR ON THE ISLE OF ORKNEY, FIVE MILES NE OF STROMNESS. THE LARGEST STONE CIRCLE IN SCOTLAND IS A MAJOR PART OF ORKNEY’S WORLD HERITAGE SITE. THE SURROUNDING AREA IS SATURATED WITH PREHISTORIC CONSTRUCTIONS. THIS LANDSCAPE WAS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO OUR ANCESTORS.
THE BRODGAR RING IS THE CENTRAL CIRCLE ON THE THIN STRIP OF LAND WHICH BISECTS THE FRESH WATER LOCH OF HARRAY WITH THE SALT WATER LOCH OF STENNESS. WATER LEVELS WERE LOWER IN THE NEOLITHIC. A HUGE ENIGMATIC LEGACY HAS BEEN LEFT BEHIND ON THIS SMALL ISLAND, OFF THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND.
THE NESS OF BRODGAR AREA IS A BEAUTIFUL LOCATION WITH A 360 DEGREE NATURAL AMPHITHEATRE. NO DOUBT THE ANCIENT PEOPLE CAREFULLY PICKED THIS SPECIAL LOCATION FOR ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS. THE PROMINENT HILLS OF HOY, SEEM TO BE SIGNIFICANT TO THE CIRCLE. THE RING WAS SCHEDULED IN 1882 MAKING IT ONE OF THE FIRST HISTORICAL SITES TO BE PROTECTED.
THE CIRCLE WAS CAREFULLY ERECTED ON SLIGHTLY SLOPING GROUND LIKE STONEHENGE. THE RING AND DITCH IS 130M IN DIAMETER, THE CIRCLE ALONE IS 104M WIDE. THE MEGALITHS RANGE IN HEIGHT FROM JUST OVER 2M TO MORE THAN 4.5M HIGH. THE RING TAKES NEARLY FIVE MINUTES TO WALK AROUND THE INSIDE.
A NEAR PERFECT CIRCLE OF THIRTY SIX STONES REMAIN, ORIGINALLY IT IS THOUGHT THERE WAS SIXTY. THE CIRCLE CAME INTO STATE CARE IN 1906 WITH THIRTEEN OF THE STONES BEING RE-ERECTED. BRODGAR LIKE CALLANISH IS WELL PRESERVED, DUE TO ITS REMOTENESS OUT WITH THE SCOTTISH MAINLAND. ON THE ISLANDS, POPULATION IS SPARSE WITH DEVELOPED LAND AND FARMING AT A MINIMUM.
THE RING IS THOUGHT TO DATE BETWEEN 2500BC-2000BC WHICH MAKES THE CIRCLE YOUNGER THAN THE OTHER NESS OF BRODGAR CONSTRUCTIONS. ARCHAEOLOGISTS THINK THE SITES WOULD HAVE SERVED A CEREMONIAL AND SOCIAL FUNCTION WHILE PAYING HOMAGE TO THE ANCESTORS.
CERTAIN STONES HAVE FALLEN NATURALLY OR BEEN PUSHED OVER. IN EDWARDIAN TIMES SOME WERE RE-ERECTED, OTHERS ARE STILL RECUMBENT. ONE MEGALITH WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTENING IN 1980. OTHERS HAVE REMAINED UPRIGHT, STANDING THE TEST OF TIME, FOR NEARLY FIVE MILLENNIA.
SOME OF THE MEGALITHS HAVE WELL DEFINED SHAPES. ONE RESEMBLES A STANLEY BLADE. ANOTHER IS VERY SIMILAR TO A PERSON, YOU CAN MAKE OUT A HEAD, TORSO, ARMS AND LEGS. PERHAPS THIS IS SYMBOLIC OF A DECEASED ANCESTOR OVERLOOKING AND GUARDING THE SACRED CIRCLE.
THERE ARE TWO ENTRANCES, WIDE ENOUGH FOR TWO PEOPLE STANDING SIDE BY SIDE TO ENTER OR EXIT. WE ARE UNSURE OF WHAT WAS IN THE CENTRE IF ANYTHING. THE THREE RING SETTING AT THE NESS IS REMINICENT OF THORNBOROUGH HENGE IN ENGLAND, WHICH IS THOUGHT TO RESEMBLE ORIONS BELT.
THE DITCH DOES NOT HAVE AN OUTER BANK, HOWEVER, THE FIRST ACCOUNT OF THE CIRCLE IN 1529 HAS A BANK REPORTED. MATERIAL FROM THE DITCH WENT INTO THE INTERNAL AREA. THE SURPLUS MATERIAL MAY HAVE BEEN USED FOR THE SURROUNDING MOUNDS. DURING EXCAVATIONS OF THE ROCK CUT DITCH, IT WAS FOUND TO BE 10M WIDE BY NEARLY 3.5M DEEP, THE SIDES WERE ALSO FOUND TO BE STEEPER THAN AT PRESENT.
ARCHAEOLOGISTS EXCAVATED THREE THIN TRENCHES IN 1973. THIS IS THE ONLY ARCHAEOLOGY RECORDS TO DATE, THEY FOUND NO EVIDENCE FOR A BANK. A 19TH CENTURY REPORT OF TURF STRIPPING TOOK PLACE. GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYING HAS SHOWN ARCHAEOLOGISTS VERY LITTLE. THE CIRCLES INTERIOR REMAINS UNEXCAVATED.
SURROUNDING THE RING OF BRODGAR IS AT LEAST THIRTEEN SO CALLED BURIAL MOUNDS. THE YOUNGEST MAY DATE TO 1500BC. THE OLDEST MAY PRECEDED THE CIRCLE AND EXPLAIN THE RINGS POSITIONING AND ERECTION. UNMETHODICAL EXCAVATIONS TOOK PLACE IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES.
THE PREHISTORIC MOUNDS HAVE MODERN NAMES SUCH AS PLUMCAKE MOUND, SOUTH MOUND, FRESH KNOWE AND SALT KNOWE. THESE MOUNDS ARE REMINISCENT OF THE STONEHENGE ENVIRONS, BUT ON A MUCH SMALLER SCALE.
SCOTTISH GEOLOGIST HUGH MILLER VISITED IN 1846 AND QUOTED ‘THEY LOOK LIKE AN ASSEMBLAGE OF ANCIENT DRUIDS, MYSTERIOUSLY STERN AND INVINCIBLY SILENT AND SHAGGY.
SCOTTISH ARCHAEOASTRONOMER, PROFESSOR ALEXANDER THOM, IN PREFACE TO HIS BOOK, MEGALITHIC REMAINS IN BRITAIN, WROTE, ’HERE, AS IN NO OTHER PLACE, THERE ARE ENOUGH REMAINS TO PROVE CONCLUSIVELY THAT THE MOVEMENTS OF THE MOON WERE BEING FULLY OBSERVED.’
THE RING OF BRODGAR ALONG WITH THE MAESHOWE AND THE STONES OF STENNESS, WAS A MONUMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT BY OUR ANCESTORS WHO WERE HIGHLY INTELLIGENT AND VASTLY SKILLED IN MULTIPLE AREAS.
AT THE NESS WE CAN WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF OUR ANCESTORS AND VISIT THESE BEAUTIFUL CIRCLES AND TOMBS, WHICH STILL EXSIT IN OUR PRESENT DAY. LYING DORMANT FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. THIS VAST COMPLEX WOULD HAVE BEEN AS IMPORTANT AS STONEHENGE OR AVEBURY, PERHAPS MORE IMPORTANT.
A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR ANCIENT ANCESTORS.
New discoveries at the Ness of Brodgar in Orkney
More decorated stones have been uncovered the Ness of Brodgar
excavation in Orkney. Over 600 examples have now been found at the
site. A special workshop in August will look at the links between art
and archaeology - you can find out more here
The Ness of Brodgar
Excavation of 5000 year old buildings on the Orkney Islands. Nick Card and his team are discovering amazing stones.
Ness of Brodgar excavations - Trench P - August 2017
Trench P at the Ness of Brodgar Neolithic complex excavation in August 2017. See nessofbrodgar.co.uk for details.
Lecture: Ness of Brodgar to a 'T'
Site director Nick Card's 2018 pre-excavation talk in the Orkney Theatre, Kirkwall, Orkney.
People, Place & Perception-Liam McArthur Visit to the Ness of Brodgar
Simon Gray, University of the Highlands and Islands MSc Archaeology Student talks with Liam McArthur - Member of Scottish Parliament for Orkney.
Ness of Brodgar
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Ness of Brodgar
Ness of Brodgar is an archaeological site covering 2.5 hectares (6.2 acres) between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site near Loch of Harray, Orkney, in Scotland.Excavations at the site began in 2003.
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Archaeology Safaris - Ness of Brodgar - Orkney - 2012
Archaeology Safaris - Ness of Brodgar - Orkney - 2012. Aerial-Cam Ltd presents: A drive on Orkney via: Maeshowe, The Stones of Stenness, the Ness Brodgar and The Ring of Brodgar.
The Standing Stones of Stenness: Megalithic Technology in Orkney 3,100 BC
Explore Orkney and surrounding Islands with Megalithomania in August 2020 -
The Standing Stones of Stenness in Orkney, Scotland are the remains of a sublime stone circle that was part of a greater complex including The Ring of Brodgar, Maeshowe and the Ness of Brodgar. It dates to around 3,100 BC making it one of the oldest circles in Britain. Includes exclusive aerial footage.
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Inner Holm
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Inner Holm, is a small inhabited island in Stromness harbour and one of the Orkney islands of Scotland.It is about 350 metres east of the harbour front of Stromness but it is connected to the Orkney Mainland shore at low tide on the opposite side of the bay.The larger islet of Outer Holm, to which Inner Holm is also connected at low tide, lies to the south.The waters of Cairston Roads, part of Scapa Flow, lie to the east.
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People, Place & Perception @ the Ness of Brodgar
Simon Gray, University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute MSc student, talks through the work he and the team are undertaking in Structure One at the Ness of Brodgar Neolithic dig in Orkney.
Ancient Orkney Tour | 14th - 21st August 2019 | Megalithomania
Megalithomania and Nicholas Cope presents ANCIENT ORKNEY TOUR - August 14th - 21st 2019 (7 nights / 8 days). Explore the Ring of Brodgar, the Stones of Stennes, Maeshowe Chambered Tomb, the archaeological dig at the Ness of Brodgar, The Tomb of the Eagles, Skara Brae, Wideford Hill and Cuween Hill chambered tombs, Unstan Tomb, various museums, Kirkwall town and cathedral and numerous standing stones and sites not on the itinerary. We will also take island visits to Papa Westray (on the world's shortest flight) to see the Knap of Howar, a ferry to Hoy to see the Dwarfie Stane and numerous megalithic constructions on Rousay Island! All in one week!
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Mystery Stone Structure Discovered Under Neolithic Dump In Scotland
undergroundworldnews.com
Archaeologists have uncovered a mysterious stone structure buried under what they describe as Scotland's largest Neolithic rubbish dump.
The layout of the stone slabs, known as orthostats, found during a dig at Ness of Brodgar on Orkney is unlike anything previously found on the islands.
Archaeologists are also mystified as to why the structure was covered over by a huge midden.
They have speculated that it could possibly be a chambered tomb.
However, the dig team, which is led by University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute, said further hard work would be needed to properly understand the find.
Since 2002, Neolithic buildings, artwork, pottery, animal bones and stone tools have been discovered at Ness of Brodgar, the location of the Ring of Brodgar standing stones.
The mystery structure was found on the last day of this year's excavations of a complex of Neolithic buildings in the area.
Almost 10m (33ft) wide and comprising slabs of up to 4m (13ft) in length, the structure could be the oldest of the buildings under covered so far. It could be 5,000 years old.
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ORKNEY - Neolithic Heart around the Ness of Brodgar
Four Neolithic sites grouped together on the Mainland of Orkney. These include the Ness of Brodgar,, perhaps the most important Neolithic site ever discovered.
Daily activities and resource use in Neolithic Orkney: Microarchaeology at the Ness of Brodgar
“Daily activities and resource use in Neolithic Orkney: Microarchaeology at the Ness of Brodgar”
Dr Lisa-Marie Shillito at the Archaeological Research in Progress Conference in Edinburgh, 2015.
Stones of Stenness, Stromness, Orkney, Scotland.
A Journey Through Scotland's Ancient Sites
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STONES OF STENNESS
STROMNESS
ORKNEY MAINLAND
SCOTLAND
INTRO
THE STONES OF STENNESS IS ONE OF FOUR SITES WHICH MAKE UP THE HEART OF NEOLITHIC ORKNEY, WORLD HERITAGE SITE. THE STONES OF STENNESS ARE SITUATED ON ORKNEY’S MAIN ISLAND, NINE MILES FROM THE NORTH TIP OF SCOTLAND, ACROSS THE PENTLAND FIRTH.
ORKNEY WAS A JEWEL OF THE NEOLITHIC CULTURE. THE STONES OF STENNESS IS JUST ONE COMPONENT OF A MASSIVE CEREMONIAL LANDSCAPE. THIS MEGALITHIC COMPLEX WAS ERECTED BY OUR PREHISTORIC ANCESTORS. THE RING OF BRODGAR & THE RING OF BOOKAN, MAKE UP A TRILOGY OF SACRED CIRCLES AT THE NESS OF BRODGAR.
SITUATED NEXT TO THE B9055 ROAD AND BETWEEN THE LOCHS OF HARRAY & STENNESS. THE STONES ARE NOT ONLY OF SCOTTISH SIGNIFICANCE BUT GLOBALLY. THE TIME OF CONSTRUCTION IS NOT CLEAR. DATES RANGE FROM BETWEEN 3400BC-2700BC. THE FIRST RECORD OF THE STONES WAS IN 1700AD. THE SITE WAS TAKEN INTO STATE CARE IN 1906.
STONES
THE STONES WERE LAYED OUT IN AN 30M X 32M DIAMETER OVAL.
ORIGINALLY THERE WERE TWELVE STONES, AT PRESENT FOUR REMAIN, THIS HAS BEEN THE CASE SINCE 1760. MODERN MARKERS INDICATE WHERE HOLES OR STONE SETTINGS WERE FOUND BY ARCHAEOLOGISTS. WOODEN POSTS COULD HAVE EXISTED BEFORE THE MEGALITHS.
BETWEEN 3000BC-2000BC IS WHEN THE STONES WERE THOUGHT TO BE ERECTED. THE HIGHEST IS OVER 5.7M. IT IS POSSIBLE THE MEGALITHS WERE ERECTED BEFORE THE HENGE CONSTRUCTION. THE TENANT FARMER PULLED DOWN TWO OF THE STONES IN 1851. ONE LAY RECUMBENT, THE OTHER HAD BEEN SHATTERED.
INTERIOR
THE CENTRAL FEATURES WERE IN USE FROM 4950-4500 YEARS AGO. IF YOU ENTER THE SITE FROM THE ORIGINAL ENTRANCE, THE FIRST FEATURE YOU COME TO AFTER THE MEGALITHS, IS A SHORT ARRANGEMENT OF STONES. ACCORDING TO EARLY ACCOUNTS A HUGE RECUMBENT MEGALITH LAY TOWARDS THE CENTRE OF THE RING.
A DOLMEN WAS RECONSTRUCTED IN 1906, THIS RECONSTRUCTION DESTROYED EVIDENCE OF WHAT ONCE EXISTED. IN THE 1970’S THE DOLMEN WAS TAKEN DOWN. THE TWO STONES THAT REMAIN, FRAME MAESHOWE IN THE DISTANCE.
THE FOCAL POINT OF THE INTERIOR IS THE LARGE HEARTH. AN EARLIER HEARTH WOULD HAVE PRECEDED THE ONE WE SEE TODAY, ALONG WITH A TIMBER UPRIGHT. COLIN RICHARDS AN ARCHAEOLOGIST, ARGUES THE ORIGINAL HEARTH CAME FROM THE MIDDLE AREA AT BARNHOUSE VILLAGE, A SHORT WALK AWAY.
HENGE
AROUND THE MEGALITHS WAS A MASSIVE ENCLOSURE HENGE WITH A BANK AND DITCH. THE DITCH WAS 4M WIDE BY NEARLY 2.5M IN DEPTH. THIS WAS A BIG ACHIEVEMENT BY OUR ANCIENT ANCESTORS, AS THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN MET WITH MOSTLY SOLID ROCK.
THE SITE LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT TODAY THAN ORIGINALLY IMAGINED. HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF PLOUGHING WORE DOWN THE ORIGINAL HENGE BY 1973. WHAT WE SEE TODAY OF THE HENGE IS A MODERN RECONSTRUCTION OF WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE IN 1851.
ARCHAEOLOGY
ANIMAL BONES WITH GROOVED WARE POTTERY, SUGGEST THE NEW STONE AGE PEOPLE, COOKED AND DINED AT THE STONES. THIS GROOVED WEAR POTTERY HAS BEEN EXCAVATED AT SOME OF THE BEST KNOWN ANCIENT SITES IN SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND.
THERE IS EVIDENCE OF FIRE IN THE SMALL CENTRAL SLAB SETTING. THERE IS SIGNS OF ACTIVITY FROM MUCH LATER ON IN HISTORY. PITS WERE DUG AND FILLED WITH POTTERY JARS. THESE WERE ALSO FOUND IN NEARBY IRON AGE SETTLEMENTS FROM 3000 YEARS LATER.
OTHER INFO
AT THE TOP OF THE STENNESS PENINSULA IS THE WATCHSTONE. IT IS SITUATED A SHORT WALK AWAY TO THE NW. THE HOLED ‘STONE OF ODIN’ WAS NEARBY WHICH WAS DESTROYED IN 1814. THIS STONE WAS RENOWNED FOR SEALING CONTRACTS AND HEALING.
THE NAME STENNESS DERIVES FROM STEIN-NES, AN OLD NORSE WORD MEANING STONE PROMONTORY. THESE SITES AT THE NESS OF BRODGAR ALONG WITH CALLANISH ARE THE BEST KNOWN PREHISTORIC REMAINS IN SCOTLAND.
A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR ANCIENT ANCESTORS
Skara Brae 3100 BC -Orkney - Scotland
In the winter of 1850, a great storm battered Orkney.
There was nothing particularly unusual about that, but, on this occasion, the combination of wind and extremely high tides stripped the grass from a large mound, then known as Skerrabra.
This revealed the outline of a number of stone buildings - something that intrigued the local laird, William Watt, of Skaill, who embarked on an excavation of the site.
In 1868, after the remains of four ancient houses had been unearthed, work at Skerrabra was abandoned. The settlement remained undisturbed until 1925, when another storm damaged some of the previously excavated structures. A sea-wall was built to preserve these remains, but during the construction work, yet more ancient buildings were discovered.
Ness of Brodgar - 2016, Trench T
The Bright Lights of Orkney Documentary
This is the official worldwide release of the extremely anticipated documentary following international celebrity Robbie Drever as he prepares for an epic journey.