Introduction

Location: Mainland, Orkney, Scotland

Type: Neolithic settlement
Skara Brae is a Neolithic Age site, consisting of ten stone structures, near the
Bay of Skaill, Orkney, Scotland. Today the village is situated by the shore but
when it was inhabited (c.3100-2500 BCE) it would have been further inland.
Steady erosion of the land over the centuries has altered the landscape
considerably and interpretations of the site, based upon its present location,
have had to be re-evaluated in light of this. The name Skara Brae is a
corruption of the old name for the site, `Skerrabra or `Styerrabrae which
designated the mound which buried (and thereby preserved) the buildings of
the village. The name by which the original inhabitants knew the site is
unknown.

Founder/ Land Owner

William Watt

Began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
the work was abandoned in 1868. The site remained undisturbed until 1913,
when during a single weekend the site was plundered by a party with shovels
who took away an unknown quantity of artifacts. In 1924 another storm
swept away part of one of the houses and it was determined the site should
be made secure and more seriously investigated. The job was given
to Professor Vere Gordon Childe who travelled to Skara Brae for the first time
in mid-1927

Archaeologist
Professor Vere Gordon Childe

Architecture
Skara Brae was inhabited for at least 600 years, over this time there appears
to have been two separate stages of construction. The construction phases
date to around 3000BC. The earliest houses in the village were circular;
made up of one main room, containing a central hearth, with beds set into
the walls at either side. Opposite the main entrance was a shelved stone
dresser. The houses that were later constructed followed the same basic
design, but on a larger scale. The house shape changed slightly, becoming
more rectangular with rounded internal corners. The beds were no longer
built into the walls but protruded into the main living area. Each house had
an entrance that consisted of a low doorway, which had a stone slab door
that could be used to close off the entrance. These structures were used for
seven generations, but it appears that Skara Brae did not grow any larger
than eight structures that are still present today. Each housing unit could
hold only 50 to 100 villagers at any given time. The houses appeared to have
been built into the grown, but this is not the case. The houses were built into
mounds of pre-existing refuse, known as "midden". Midden provided the
houses with some form of stability, but its main purpose was to act as a layer
of insulation. The Orkney climate has been known to be rather harsh. The
way the houses were built into the midden would have made the village
appear as low, rounded mounds; it was only noticeable that a village was
present by the rooftops. Also the individuals added a remarkably advanced
drainage system, which may have included an early form bathrooms

Layout

The layout of Skara Brae was mostly for functional purposes, but some of the
elements of the architecture may have been symbolically significant.

Walkways
The walkways that wound between the houses forced outsiders and the
inhabitants to travel through the village in a unique fashion. An individual
navigating their way through Skara Brae had to pass the houses branching
from the main passage.

Doorway
The identical layout of each house meant that each doorway being passed,
the individual was immediately become aware of the central hearth and the
stone dresser illuminated by firelight. This view was probably significant in
the fact that this would be the first encountered area upon entering an
individual's dwelling

Dresser
The positioning of the stone dresser, immediately opposite the door, meant
that it was illuminated by whatever light came through the entrance as well
as the light from the central hearth. This ensured that the dresser and its
contents were the first object viewed when entering the house. The dresser's
contents could have possibility represented the status of the owner; its
position could have communicated the wealth factor to an individual before
entering another's homesteadThe interior of the homes were designed so
that there was a deliberately walkway to guide the movement of any
individual that entered the home. There is an obstacle, made from a slab of
flagstone, which was placed to the immediate left of the entrance. This
forced the individual entering the house to move towards the right of the
house. The area that the individual was being directed towards may have
been considered a "male area" and was considered distinct from the left side
of the house, where the domestic chores we carried out.

Significance
The layout of Skara Brae intentionally outlines the Lotus flower in bud and its
leaf. Symbolizing the Tree of Life and Resurrection each are significant motifs
used to encrypt the concept of Precession. The symbolic significance of these
motifs was known only to the Priests.
The Tree of Life represented the Axis Munde around which the heavens
appear to revolve. The Axis Munde is the World Pillar, the link between the
terrestrial and celestial worlds. A representation of this World Pillar is to be
found lying on the floor in House Seven, significantly the same house where
the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs were carved.
In addition, the bodies of two older women which had been placed in a
sarcophagus, were discovered buried beneath the sarcophagus bed at the
right hand side of House Seven. This is the same sarcophagus bed upon
which the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs had been carved.

Signs of the Zodiac

The inhabitants of Skara Brae erected the twelve Stones of Stenness in a
perfect circle to represent the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac and eventually
thirteen tombs were erected on Mainland Orkney to represent the Lunar
Zodiac.

Conceptual on how they live in.

TIMELINE OF SKARA BRAE

c. 3300 BCE - 2600 BCE

Neolithic site of Barnhouse Settlement occupied.

3100 BCE
Neolithic Village of Skara Brae inhabited, stone walls built.

c. 3100 BCE
Neolithic village of Skara Brae inhabited.

c. 3000 BCE - c. 2800 BCE

The Neolithic chambered cairn known as Maeshowe constructed and in
use.

2600 BCE
Barnhouse Settlement abandoned and partially destroyed by
inhabitants.

c. 2500 BCE
Village of Skara Brae is abandoned for unknown reasons.

1850 CE
Buried Neolithic Age village of Skara Brae uncovered by storm.

1913 CE
Skara Brae site is plundered by unknown parties.

1924 CE
A storm damages the exposed village of Skara Brae and destroys one
house.

1924 CE
Skara Brae is placed under guardianship of H.M.
Commissioners of Works.
1927 CE
Professional excavation and preservation efforts begin
at Skara Brae under V. G. Childe and J.W. Paterson.
1999 CE
Skara Brae declared a World Heritage Site by
UNESCO.