A Peedie Bit O' Orkney...

Today's monument is very unassuming from outside... a little hillock standing in the middle of a field by the main road from Kirkwall to Stromness, not far from the Standing Stones O' Stenness...

But this is Maeshowe, and that simple hillock is no mere hillock... it's a prehistoric burial cairn, dating from around 2700BC. And inside, it looks like this (photo looking back up entrance passage):

When you come up the 36ft long entrance passage (bent double), you find yourself in a domed space some 4.7 square metres in size, with 3 "L" shaped burial chambers in the walls - 1 straight ahead, and one each left and right.

When the tomb was excavated, it was discovered that it had been disturbed before - Viking Runic "graffiti" was found etched on the walls, including a picture of what is now known as "The Maeshowe Dragon" (below):

Perhaps the most interesting fact about Maeshowe occurs once a year, on the winter solstice... as the sun sets, it's dying rays bisect the nearby Stones O' Stenness, and shine directly down the passage of the tomb, illuminating the chamber inside.

It's amazing to think that prehistoric man achieved this, and we can only wonder at the rituals and ceremonies that would have occurred in those times.

See my bible Orkneyjar: Maeshowe for more information on the wonder that is Maeshowe, including what it looked like originally, before excavations took place and a concrete "roof" was put on to give it the domed appearance it has now - and also the part that acoustics play in the tomb.

A Peedie Bit O' Orkney...

Two of our ancient monuments again tonight (Don't worry, it'll be a while before I run out of them to show you!) - a couple of circles of standing stones, or henges...

It's believed that they would have been used by ancient druids for rituals, probably linked with the summer and winter solstices, or would have certainly had some ceremonial uses - animal bones have been found around the rings, giving evidence of ancient sacrifices.

Standing Stones O' Stenness

The older of the 2 circles (although it's actually more sort of elliptical), now consisting of only 4 upright stones, but these are considerably taller than those of the nearby Ring O' Brodgar - up to 19 feet!

More information here, courtesy of Orkneyjar: Orkneyjar: Standing Stones O' Stenness

(Credit to www.allfivesenses.com/ for the image - come to Orkney and learn the ancient stone age survival skills of making fires, etc).

Ring O' Brodgar

More complete than the Standing Stones, this consists of a true circle, 104 metres wide, and originally contained 60 megaliths. Today, only around about 30 of these stones remain. The stones vary in height from about 7ft to just over 15ft - imagine trying to put those into place without the assistance of a JCB!

More information from my bible here: Orkneyjar: Ring O' Brodgar

A Peedie Bit O' Orkney...

Kirkwall is very lucky to have the ruins of not 1, but 2 impressive palaces across the road from each other, and across another road from the side of the Cathedral.

First, The Earl's Palace, started in 1600... which must have been beautiful in its day, but hides a bloody and cruel history.

Read about it here: Orkneyjar: Earl's Palace

Then, the older of the two - The Bishop's Palace, built in the mid-12th century for Bishop William the Old...

Orkneyjar.com have a wonderful history you can read here: Orkneyjar: Bishop's Palace

The picture above shows the interior of the palace, with the spire of the Cathedral visible over the walls.

Set into the exterior wall of the palace is a closed archway, which at one time stood across the street between the 2 palaces, and which gave the street its name - Watergate.

A Peedie Bit O' Orkney...

Tonight, another one of our wonderful prehistoric sites... which are, literally, everywhere in Orkney - we're so lucky to have a landscape so rich in ancient history.

Older than the pyramids in Egypt, and Stonehenge, we have the stone age village of Skara Brae, situated on the shore of the Bay O' Skaill in the parish of Sandwick... although it wouldn't always have been so close to the sea... storms and the sea have caused a good bit of coastal erosion in the 4,000-odd years of Skara Brae's existence.

Read more about it here: Orkneyjar: Skara Brae

It's discovery was amazing... basically, a great storm in 1850 stripped the grass off the top of a bank, and the outlines of some of the houses were exposed from where they had been buried by a sandstorm many, many years before. Excavation continued for over a century, on and off, and what's left is what we have now... but it's an on-going work to preserve this ancient site from further erosion and damage - you can see one of the houses in the picture above has been covered over, and you'll find most of the site can only be viewed from above the houses.

Below is one of the dwellings, with the hearth in the centre (and there would have been a roof of sorts, with a chimney), beds to the left and right which would have had animal skins to keep you warm, and in front is the stone dresser - way better than Ikea could do, and built to last!

Skara Brae's well worth a visit, followed by a wander on the beach.

And why not order this? A children's book, but a good read - "The Boy With The Bronze Axe" by Kathleen Fidler... The Orcadian Bookshop: The Boy With The Bronze Axe