Introduction to Skara Brae Neolithic Village

This evening, I am focusing on the Skara Brae Neolithic Village , one of Britain’s best prehistoric sites which has achieved World Heritage status. This site is located on Mainland Orkney, (north of the Scottish mainland) and about eighteen miles west of Kirkwall, the principal town on Orkney.

History of Skara Brae Neolithic Village

This village was occupied for about 600 years (3100 BC to 2500 BC) , a period which spanned two distinct phases of occupation with most of that which is currently visible representing the final phase which was built over the levelled earlier site.

The site was originally exposed by the very forces which continue to threaten it today: a wild storm and coastal erosion. Back in the settlement’s Neolithic prime it is believed there was a considerable buffer of land between the village and the coast virtually all of which has now been eroded, a process which may have already destroyed other parts of the site.

It is believed that Skara Brae was a self-sufficient community which eventually dispersed when the people reverted to more single family type homesteads under a regional identity. However, this is one theory. The archaeology does suggest that, when occupied, the Skara Brae site was home to a remarkably successful and stable small community which lasted for some 600 years.

Internal, domestic facilities at Skara Brae

Looking down, through what may have been turf roofs, we can identify with a range of basic furniture including beds and dressers, albeit made from stone. The passage ways would have been roofed to afford protection from the persistent Orkney wind.

Preservation of the Skara Brae Site

The site was preserved over the millennia due to a combination of robust construction (in an organic refuse tip) and filling up with sand after abandonment.

Skara Brae in context of other prehistoric sites in close proximity.

Skara Brae is one of a collection of important prehistoric sites on Orkney with neighbours including Ring of Brodgar, Stones of Stennes and Maes Howe.

Etymology of Skara Brae

The name Skara Brae is a blend of Old Norse and Scots-English. (Until 1472 Orkney was part of Norway.) Skara is derived from the personal name Skari whilst Brae is Scots for hill.

More Information

For more information on Skara Brae and other prehistoric sites in Scotland (plus a wide range of other information for visitors) refer to Visitors Guide to Scotland, ISBN 978-1-9161332-0-4