16th – 17th August, 2024

 

I arrived at the Ring of Brodgar in the early morning.

And, for the first half an hour or so, I had the place completely to myself. I managed to beat the crowds by walking from the junction at Stenness and arriving before the first buses came.

I am not sure if it is just because I got to see this place alone for a while, but it made a big impression on me. One of the reasons I visit so many neolithic sites – and find them so fascinating – is that I often feel energy when I visit them, and this place is very much still very ‘alive’ in that regard.

Historically, this has been dated to around 2500 BCE, which makes it one of the later Neolithic sites on Orkney. It has also been discovered that its rocks are not from one single place of origin but sourced from all different parts of Orkney; yet another factor that makes it so fascinating. There can be no doubt it must have served some form of ceremonial purpose, and that its creation would have taken a lot of careful coordination from many people over several generations working in cohesion.

I left the place an hour or so later and made my way further down into this UNESCO World Heritage site. The Ring of Brodgar is just one part of an ancient complex commonly known as the Heart of Neolithic Orkney, all spread across a narrow isthmus straddled between two of Orkney’s land masses and the locks of Stennes and Horray. The setting is truly eerie and one can easily see how this became a spiritual nexus for prehistoric people.

The next place of interest in my walking tour of this place was the Ness of Brodgar.

If you have not heard of this place then I will give a very brief introduction (but also advise you to look it up as it is truly fascinating); the Ness of Brodgar is an archaeological excavation that has wielded some exciting results and completely changed our understanding about the timeline of neolithic Britain. Since they started digging the first pits, twenty years ago, the evidence has mounted and proven that this place was part of a vast ceremonial centre where people from all over Britain – and possibly beyond – gathered.

And, what made my visit to this place even more special, was that this was the final day they were allowing visitors before they buried it again.

It seems a shame to bury such a significant treasure – particularly after all these years they have spent painstakingly excavating it – but it is being done for a very good reason. The type of stone the Neolithic people used to make the site does not cope well with being exposed to the elements. There are even theories that this might be one of the reasons the site was eventually abandoned because archaeologists have found evidence that the builders were forced to make many repairs over the hundreds of years this place was in use, and over time these fixes became increasingly haphazard until they finally gave up. Burying this place will ensure its longevity. Perhaps one-day future archaeologists will be able to excavate it again (hopefully with updated technology that can not only investigate it further but also better preserve it).

Even though it was the very last day, there were still people working in the pits till the very end. The mood was generally joyful, but there was also a melancholy in the air. The guide who took me and several dozen other people around for a tour even got a little bit teary at the end of the tour. It was at Structure 27, and he told us that it is the one that he – and many others – will miss the most.

Most of the foundations they have unearthed so far have revealed buildings of a similar design but Structure 27 is as enigmatic as it is beautiful. It is believed that all the buildings of the Ness of Brodgar were not domestic in purpose, as they are larger than the structures found at places like Skara Brae, and they have found little to no evidence of people living here. The evidence all points to these being communal places for the gathering of many disparate people.

Also, most archaeologists agree that – even though this entire place was primarily ceremonial in its function – Structure 27 was special in some way. It is separated from the others, is much larger, and has a different layout. The stonework is also much more elaborate. So far, they have not been able to find anything within it that they can use to accurately date its construction, but during our tour, he revealed that just a few days ago they found something that does hold potential for this and will be sent to a laboratory; a cattle scapula. Sometime in the near future, they will possibly make an announcement.

Overall, this place was very rewarding to visit, and I am very pleased that I got to see it. I can now say that I was one of the last people to ever visit and see the Ness of Brodgar before they buried it again.

One fact that really astounded me during the tour is that out of eighteen test pits that they initially dug in this area – to gauge how much there is to explore – seventeen discovered structures, and since then they have only performed excavations for around twenty percent of the total surface area of the Ness of Brodgar. It is a complex on a massive scale and they have so far only tapped the surface of it. This is quite literal for even most of the areas they have excavated because they are also aware that there are older structures below the newer ones, but they currently have no way of unearthing them without damaging the site. Once again, hopefully, future archaeologists will have more tools at their disposal.

After the Ness, I continued along the isthmus until I crossed to the other side and reached the Standing Stones of Stenness.

Despite its name – and appearance – this was originally another stone circle; one believed to be much older than the Ring of Brodgar.

But out of a total of twelve stones, only these have stood the test of time. Frustratingly many of them were destroyed by a nineteenth-century farmer who found them an inconvenience whilst tilling his fields and this caused some of the other villagers to intervene by attempting to burn down his house. One of the stones he destroyed was the Odin Stone which had a hole in the middle of it that people used to hold hands through as part of local marriage ceremonies.

Visitors to this site should also not miss the nearby Barnhouse Village, which also appears to be another ceremonial centre close to and contemporary with The Standing Stones of Stenness. It seems that archaeologists keep being surprised at every turn by the depth of historical interest this area possesses.

In the afternoon, I made my way back to Stenness village and visited to chambered cairns nearby. The first is Maeshowe.

This monument is one of such scale and significance that Historical Scotland has decided to lock it up and only let people inside by guided tour. Places are limited so I had to book this several weeks in advance to secure a spot. I was also not allowed to take photos of the interior (a rule I respected).

In its structure, this is similar to many of the other tombs in Orkney and the Caithness region. Entry is through a narrow passage that leads to a large open chamber with a pyramidal ceiling, and openings in the walls for where the bones of ancestors were stored.

There are, however, some things that make this place special. First of all, is the size of it. It is huge. There were around thirty people on this tour and it wasn’t at all cramped when we were all inside. The drystone walls are made from stabs that were picked for their almost perfect flatness and many of them are huge and must have been a burden to not only bring here but also lift as they constructed the pyramidal curvature of the walls and its roof. This site is also surrounded by a henge – which is unusual for a burial cairn – and the four megaliths in the corners of the inner chamber are thought to predate the monument in its current form; hinting that this place served another ceremonial purpose before they converted it into a tomb.

Like many such neolithic sites, it also has astronomical alignments; on the morning of the winter solstice, the sun shines through the passageway and hits the wall on the far side. It slowly grows until it eventually resembles a door. Perhaps one that the Neolithic people saw as a gateway to another world.

On a slightly more mundane note, this place is also home to the world’s largest collection of Viking graffiti. When the Norsemen came and inhabited the island, they rediscovered this place and created a hole in the roof that people would climb through to explore it. This resulted in many men and women feeling a need to leave their mark on the site, and many of these inscriptions have been translated and are rather amusing. They vary from statements such as ‘Harmond of the Hard Axe carved these runes’ to more explicit brags about the various deeds men and women have enacted both inside and outside the chamber.

The second burial cairn Unstan, is not quite as well known or visited as Maeshowe so it only receives a trickle of visitors and is open to the public. It is perched on the shore of Loch Stenness and overlooks the Neolithic Heart of Orkney. Interestingly, even though it is a smaller and less-known site it has a style of local pottery named after it because some of the first examples of it were found in its chambers.

After this first day of sightseeing, I made my way back to the campsite I was staying at; the Point of Ness, which is perched on a peninsular on the south-western tip of the main island. Originally, I was planning to camp at a few different campsites throughout my time at Orkney but after a closer look at the transport system, I realised that it was possible to simply stay at Stromness which seemed to be within striking distance of everything I wanted to do anyway. It is run by the Council – rather than being a profit-driven venture – and the facilities were overall good for the price. One of the things I liked most about it is that it has a small living room for campers to use where they can charge their phones and eat meals. I spent most of my evenings here sheltering from the wind and chatting with other campers.

Despite being the location of Orkney’s busiest ferry port, Stromness still has a bucolic charm. It does not have as many amenities as Kirkwall – so you are a little more limited when it comes to things such as shops and restaurants – but I am overall glad I stayed here for the duration of my time at Orkney.

On my second day exploring the island I began by catching the bus to Skara Brae.

This is another site that I would advise those visiting Orkney to reserve in advance, as it is world-famous and often gets booked out by tour companies and cruises. I came here just after the end of the high season and almost missed out until someone advised me to do this a week before.

This is one of the better-known sites at Orkney so I won’t go into too much detail about its history and instead focus on explaining to you what it was like to see as a visitor.

I will admit that it was somewhat smaller than I expected it to be. The entire settlement is just a dozen or so structures that were clustered together fairly tightly; although it is believed that it was likely once bigger and some of it has been lost to the sea. But, despite its size I still found myself spending over an hour here. There is something special about Skara Brae that one does not quite understand until one sees it in person.

I originally had plans to spend the rest of that day going for a long hike back to Stromness, but that is something that I ended up doing the next day (and will cover in the next instalment of this blog). I ended up changing my plans because I happened to meet another lone traveller at Skara Brae called Chris; he just so happened to have a van and invited me to go on a little tour that day with him so I hopped on.

Our first stop that day was Birsay, which was just a little up the coast from Skara Brae. It is a little island just off the coast that is connected to the rest of Orkney by a narrow walkway only accessible during the low tide.

Despite its somewhat inconvenient setting, this place has a long history of settlement. It is said in the Orkneyinga Saga that this was once the permanent residence of Thorfinn the Mighty, an eleventh-century Earl of Orkney; meaning that this cut-off little island was potentially the seat of power for all of Orkney.

There are also the remains of a Norse settlement here that has the potential to have been Thorfinn’s stronghold. Archaeologists have also found the foundations of an earlier Pictish remains beneath it.

As well as being rich with history Birsay is also home to some amazing geological formations. The island is under constant barrage from the tides of the North Sea which only makes the setting even more dramatic.

After we walked around Birsay, Chris and I returned to the mainland and then visited the nearby home of another Earl of Orkney but one from a much later time; Robert Stewart, a half-brother to Mary Queen of Scots.

After which, we hopped back into his van and continued along the northern coast. This road is known as the St Magnus Way as it roughly follows the route of the saint’s body to his burial place. They have recently made a more coastal option that people can complete by foot as a pilgrimage route.

After making our way across the northern coast of the peninsular we eventually reached the other main site for that way: the Broch of Gurness.

This is thought by many to be one of Scotland’s finest examples of Iron Age Brochs, yet it doesn’t receive too many visitors as a lot of the short-term visitors to Orkney only make time for the world-famous sites such as Skara Brae.

This place is very impressive and I think one of the things that made it rewarding to me is not just how quiet it was but also its setting; perched on the coast overlooking the island of Rousay.

The ending of my second day exploring Orkney ended up being similar to my first; visiting two chambered cairns; Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn and Wideford Hill Chambered Cairn.

These were quite similar in their structures, and they also happened to be set upon hills overlooking each other.

The thing that makes them slightly different experiences as a visitor is that Cuween is a cairn you get to enter as the people of the time did; through a narrow passage tunnel.

Whereas at Wideford Hill the original passage is not useable for some reason, so Historic Scotland has created a shaft in the roof that one enters through a ladder.

These are not only rewarding sites to visit for their history but also their settings. As I mentioned they are both situated on opposite hills that are not only overlooking each other but also the bay at Kirkwall. There is probably a reason for this alignment that will probably remain a mystery.

Interestingly, Cuween’s chambers were discovered to not only have human bones but also that of dogs, including twenty-four skulls. Wideford Hill, on the other hand, was found to have been emptied they blocked it up by filling it with rubble. Ritual closing of such sites was something that was commonly done by Neolithic people after they came out of use, but the removal of bones is a little more mysterious. Some archaeologists theorise that they were moved to a new location.

After this busy day of sightseeing, Chris was kind enough to drop me off at Stromness and we parted ways. He was heading to the island of Hoy the next day whereas I was planning to embark upon that hike I originally intended. It was a great stroke of luck that we met because we both had the same list of sites that we wanted to see but having the convenience of his van meant that I got to see what would have taken me two days to navigate the island – through public transport and my own two feet – in just one. We also both had intentions to visit Rousay Island at some point over the following week so we swapped details in case our schedules align again once he returns from Hoy.

My next blog will cover my hike along some of Orkney’s western coast from Skara Brae to Stromness. If you would like to see more photos from my time on this trip, click here.