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All the United Kingdom Scotland Sandwick Skara Brae

Skara Brae

Amazing and mysterious Neolithic settlement on Scotland's Orkney Islands.

Sandwick, Scotland

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Skara Brae is on the west coast of Scotland.   Shadowgate/CC BY 2.0
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadowgate/12...
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  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
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Skara Brae   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
Skara Brae   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
Models on the beach   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
Skara Brae   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
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  sholcroft / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Skara Brae is the ruins of a Neolithic settlement (3100-2500 BCE), located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland Orkney, Scotland.

Skara Brae's inhabitants are thought to have been makers and users of "grooved ware," a distinctive pottery style developed in northern Scotland not long before the establishment of the settlement.

Skara Brae consists of ten clustered houses built of flat stones stacked within earthen dams, without mortar. Given the number of homes in the community, it seems likely that no more than fifty people lived in Skara Brae at any given time.

The dwellings contain a number of stone-built pieces of furniture, including cupboards, dressers, seats, and storage boxes. A number of enigmatic carved stone artifacts have been found at the site. The purpose of these remains debated among scholars.

It is also thought to be one of the earliest settlements to have a toilet and sewer system of some sort. Each individual hut released its waste into a central drainage system that carried it to the ocean. The stone drains were thought to be 14 to 24 inches high and lined with tree bark to make them watertight.

Skara Brae is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

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Lost Tribes Architectural Oddities Long Now Locations Ruins Subterranean Sites Architecture

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19 miles north west of Kirkwall on the B9056 Tel: +44 (0)1856 841 815 +44 (0)1856 841 501 (Skaill House)

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Edited By

TravelTourist, stanestane, Jaszmina Szendrey, sholcroft...

  • TravelTourist
  • stanestane
  • Jaszmina Szendrey
  • sholcroft
  • SEANETTA

Published

July 4, 2012

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Sources
  • http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/properties_sites_detail.htm?propertyID=PL_244
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skara_Brae
  • http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=147
Skara Brae
Bay of Skaill
Sandwick, Scotland, KW16 3LR
United Kingdom
59.0486, -3.3431
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Nearby Places

Ring of Brodgar

Orkney, Scotland

miles away

Ness of Brodgar

Stenness, Scotland

miles away

Brough of Birsay

Orkney, Scotland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Scotland

Scotland

United Kingdom

Places 739
Stories 49

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Ring of Brodgar

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Ness of Brodgar

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Brough of Birsay

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Scotland

Scotland

United Kingdom

Places 739
Stories 49

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