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Published: August 31st 2007
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An Intact House of Skara Brae
Each house has the same basic design. A large square room with a hearth in the middle, a bed on either side, and a shelved dresser opposite the entrance. Today I had the chance to revel in my geeky love of anthropology and archeology. You might not know, but I minored in anthropology, and have always had a passion for it. I even wanted to major in it for awhile, but never knew what I would do with the degree. I just love to learn anything about it. So the chance to see a real Neolithic village was a dream come true!!
I took a day tour from Inverness, which meant a three hour drive up to John O'Groats, the northern most settlement in mainland Britain. Then there was an easy 40 minute ferry ride to the Islands. Or that was the plan, at least. In reality, the ferry ride took almost an hour, and the seas were very rough. The ferry operators said that was the roughest they'd seen all year. No one could sit on the top of the boat, since the waves were crashing completely over the boat. I and a few other hardy souls tried, anyway, but eventually, the operators made us go down in the hold. I felt like it was something out of A Perfect Storm--I'm sure the waves were nowhere near
that bad, but i've never seen anything like it before! People were getting sick all over the place--the boat was going up and down like one of those Himalayan Roller Coasters at a fair. (Now I know why Ryan used to puke after riding them 😊 ) I was never so glad to get off a boat in my life!
It was all worth it, however, after we arrived on the island, and our tour began. First we saw the Italian Chapel, which failed to impress me. During the Second World War, some 500 Italian Prisoners of War were brought to Orkney, captured in North Africa. They were needed to overcome a shortage of labor, building the Churchill Barriers, which were built as a defence because the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet had moved to Scapa Flow. From 1942 to 1945, the Italians were housed on the island, and built the Chapel themselves. It was ok to look at, but nothing special. I was taken aback when our tour guide told us that there are more visitors to the Italian Chapel every year than Skara Brae, the Neolithic Village! But, whatever interests people, I guess...
Our next stop was
The Italian Chapel
Built by Italian POW's during the war, it is now the most visited site in Orkney. Now, no offense, but if I got to choose between a nissen hut chapel or the best known existing Neolithic village--really, there's no choice!! Skara Brae, the highlight of the trip for me. Skara Brae is Europe's most complete Neolithic village. In the winter of 1850, there was a great storm, which battered the island. Afterward, it was found that the winds and high tides had uncovered this ancient settlement. After excavations, it was found to be eight dwellings, all linked together. It is unsure whether there used to be more, and they just disappeared over time. The village was really well preserved. Not only the walls are still standing, but also the interiors of the houses still had beds, dressers, hearths and fishboxes (used to prepare bait for fishing). The settlement was inhabited between 3200-2200 BC. It was just amazing to see!!
After that, we drove to see the Rings of Brogar. They are a stone circle. Today there are 36 still standing, of an original 60. No one really knows why it was built. One thing is sure, it would have taken tons of manpower to make, more than 10,000 man days just to dig the ditch, not to mention finding, transporting and erecting the stones.
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