The Orkney Islands
SCOTLAND
These carved stones come from Skara Brae in the Orkney Islands. Famous for being stormy and isolated, the islands offered very little to early settlers. In 2007 a purposely-charred hazelnut shell was dated to around 6300 BC, indicating the presence of occasional foragers during the Mesolithic period. A few thousand years later, during the third-millennium BC, visitors took up permanent residence on the islands. The earliest-discovered permanent dwelling in the British Isles were built on one of the northern-most islands, Papa Westray, in around 3500 BC. The founding of this building, known as the Knap of Howar, features as part of the ‘Neolithic Revolution’. During this revolution, early societies around the world developed new technologies and processes that lay the foundations for modern society as we know it today. Foremost of these were permanent dwellings, farming and the domestication of animals.
​
Map of the Orkney Islands The Knap of Howar
The British Isles was one of the last places in Europe to feel the change of these Neolithic Revolution. However, on Orkney the climate was harsh; cold, stormy and wet. As such, Temporary structures were likely not hardy enough for the climate of the islands. Owing to these pressures, alongside potential competition for resources and living space in mainland Scotland, the Orkadians built these dwellings - out of reach from the influence of the Neolithic Revolution in Europe. The developing society were aware that finding sustenance on the island poised a particular issue to their ability to remain there. Unlike the rest of the British Isles, there were no land animals on Orkney. In the rest of Neolithic Europe animals were being domesticated and bred to form permanent food and resource stocks. The Orkadians found their own novel solution.
Rounding up wild animals around mainland Scotland, the Orkadian settlers transported them across the Strait of Caithness - The fastest flowing body of water in Europe - in primitive craft, before the sail had been invented. Once on land the islanders chose not to build enclosures for the animals, rather they released them onto the island to develop into a permanent hunting stock. Despite these dramatic solutions, the settlers would be tied to the sea for the bulk of their resources. The Knap of Howar was formed from stacked stone slabs from sea cliffs and was situated close to the coast. Inside the knap of Howar were numerous fish bones and mussel shells. Curiously, many bones were from halibut, a humongous fish that prefers deep water. The discovery of halibut bones told archaeologists that the Orkadians were using sail-lacking primitive crafts to reach open water in the North Sea and Atlantic in order to hunt. The waters around Orkney are some of the most dangerous in Europe, demonstrating the maritime skill of the early settlers.
Coastal communities like the Knap of Howar, that likely served a single family, developed into suit larger communities. The foremost of these is Skara Brae, a collection of houses built into the ground for shelter and supported with stone slabs - like those at the Knap of Howar. Skara Brae’s houses were linked by sheltered subterranean tunnels, where gossip could flow between the residents while storms raged outside. Storms would have made crucial access to the sea impossible, leaving the Orkadians twiddling their thumbs. In this down-time, the residents of Skara Brae developed their homes; building beds, storage and shelving units that are somewhat similar to what we see today (which you can see in the image below). Skara Brae was built around 3100 BC, earlier than Stonehenge and the Pyramids of Giza, yet we find the seedlings of our modern living ideas in these houses.
One curiosity uncovered in Skara Brae were a number of intricate carved oval stones, likely also carved during free time. They are fascinatingly even, surprisingly symmetrical and beautifully decorated. The function of the stones is a mystery with numerous theories being suggested; these include mace heads, ball bearings, tools for predicting the future, objects indicating authority or simply just art of art's sake (and to adorn those shelving units). Some have suggested the stones may even demonstrate an understanding of mathematics. Regardless of their use, the stone carvings became an export, with similar carved balls being found across northern Scotland. It wasn't just developments in carved stones that become exportable. The earliest stone circles and stone burial chambers in the UK are found on the Orkney Islands. Dating evidence from other stone circles indicate that Orkney’s monuments inspired others; stone circles are built generally later the further south you go. Perhaps without the ingenuity of the Orkadians Stonehenge may have never been built.
The Stones of Stenness
