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Archaeology
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ORKNEY ARCHAEOLOGY, AN OVERVIEW Orkney’s first settlers crossed the Pentland Firth during the Neolithic (New Stone Age) at least 5,600 years ago. They brought with them seeds to grow and animals to farm, such as cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. Red deer were also introduced but may have been left to roam free as there was no method of successfully fencing them in. They would have been hunted for their meat, antlers and skins. Dogs too were introduced, the Orkney vole may even have found its way over at this time, possibly as a stowaway. |
They built houses of stone, the oldest known example being the Knap of Howar in Papa Westray, which dates from 3,600 BC. Tools were made from stone, bone, antler and wood, although wood does not survive unless in waterlogged conditions. Pots were made from local clay and were used for storage and cooking. Plants would have been gathered, as well as wild birds and their eggs. It is likely that people visited Orkney thousands of years earlier during the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age), but as they built no permanent structures there is little for archaeologists to discover. |
In the later Neolithic, around 5,000 years ago, people built their houses together into little villages, the most famous being Skara Brae. These houses have stone beds, a stone dresser and a fire in the middle of the room. Great tombs such as Midhowe, Cuween Hill Cairn and Maeshowe were built to honour their dead and to conduct rituals, though their use remains a mystery. Great standing stones were raised, including the two circles of the Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar. They are both surrounded by large ditches known as henges; the Standing Stones of Stenness is the earliest henge monument to be dated in Britain so far. |  |
 | It is thought that a change in the climate around 1,300 BC saw an increase in rainfall, lower temperatures and higher winds. This resulted in the formation of peat on hills and in low valleys. The Bronze Age saw a drastic change in society, with single houses replacing villages. Liddle in South Ronaldsay is one of a group of monuments called ‘burnt mounds,’ formed from large numbers of fire cracked stones. A stone lined tank in the house was heated with hot stones from the fire, but whether it was used for cooking, bathing, tanning skins or some ritual purpose is unknown. Burials in stone boxes called cists replaced the communal tombs, with cremation replacing inhumation as the favoured funerary practice. |
| The Iron Age, beginning around 800 BC, saw another great change in the social structure of Orkney. Large round houses with thick walls and large central hearths were built. These structures developed over the years, growing larger, higher and more imposing until they became the monuments we know as brochs. The brochs were defended by deep ditches with high ramparts above, a sign that this was an unstable and violent period of Orkney’s history. Villages clustered around the broch tower for protection, as can be seen at Midhowe Broch and the Broch of Gurness. Underground chambers known as earth houses, like the ones at Rennibister and Grain, may have been used for food storage or for some ritual purpose. The chamber at Minehowe, with its 29 steps leading deep into the ground, was probably used for ritual rather than some practical function. |  |
In the late Iron Age Orkney was drawn into the Northern Pictish kingdom. Brochs went out of use, but their stones were re-used to build Pictish houses, as seen at the Broch of Gurness. The Picts’ lasting legacy are their beautiful symbol stones, carved with animals, birds and geometric designs. The finest example from Orkney is the Burrian Symbol Stone on display in the Orkney Museum. |
| The late 8th century AD saw the first arrival of the Vikings. It is not known whether they took over from the Pictish chiefs, or wiped out the local population. Whatever happened, Orkney became firmly Norse not only by rule but culturally as well. Most of the island placenames come from the Old Norse language. As well as being warriors the Vikings were farmers, traders and highly skilled craftworkers. The beautiful dragon-headed whale bone plaque from the boat burial at Scar, Sanday, can be seen in the Orkney Museum. The Earldom of Orkney ruled over a large part of Scotland. The most impressive buildings date from the 12th century AD, such as the Bu in Orphir and the monastic site at the Brough of Birsay. By far the most impressive monument built by the Norsemen is St. Magnus Cathedral. Founded in 1137, it is dedicated to the former Earl and Orkney’s patron saint Magnus Erlendsson. |  |
Later Earls of Orkney owed more allegiance to the Scottish king than they did to the Norwegian one. Orkney came more and more under the influence of Scotland until it was pledged to that country as part of a royal dowry in 1468. |
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