The real Fred Flintstone of Europe

For many of us, our perception of Stone Age man may have been moulded by Stonehenge and the likes of Fred Flintstone! But in Europe, you may be surprised to learn one of the real hotspots in the latter part of the Stone Age known as the Neolithic, was the Orkney Islands.

This age of history hadn’t really captured my imagination but a trip to the Orkney Islands off the northern mainland of Scotland soon changed that. The age will always have an air of mystery but every year, new excavations give us a new insight.

Reached by hunters around 7000 BCE, the nomadic hunter way of life in the Orkneys continued until around 4000 BCE when the first fields of crops were sown. The climate then was a lot milder, the grass lush and the sea levels a lot lower, so a lot different from the changeable weather the islands endure today.

Knowle of Yarso Cairn (2500 BCE)

The tradition of using chambered cairns for burials became an essential part of their belief system with many in use for hundreds of years.

Tomb of the Eagles (3000 BCE)

Each family seems to of had its own tradition with one cairn containing remains of fourteen White-tailed Sea Eagles, another further down the coast contains layers of otter spraint. Whole human skeletons have been found in some, with others having piles of bones from a mixture of individuals.

Midhowe Stalled Cairn (3500 BCE)

One of the biggest was found on Rousay in 1932, with a 23m long chamber dated to some 5500 years ago. Known as the Midhowe Stalled Cairn, the chamber was split into 12 stalls each containing a bench where a body would have been laid. The remains of 12 adults and eight children were found although none in the first four compartments. It sounds rather gruesome, but this may have been where bodies were left to decompose before being moved further back into the cairn.

Taversoe Tuick Cairn on Rousay

The Taversoe Tuick Cairn is rather unusual being made up of two chambers in a vertical arrangement and dates to around 3000 BCE, although originally these had their own entrances so were not directly connected as they are today.

Maeshowe Chambered Cairn

The most famous cairn is probably Maeshowe due to its size which would have taken some 100,000 man-hours to construct. On the winter solstice, the sunrise sees the first rays of light perfectly shining down the entrance corridor into the chamber. Viking graffiti inside in the form of runic descriptions show this has been a tourist attraction for many a year.

But it’s the heart of the Orkneys Neolithic world since classified as a World Heritage site which sees the most significant features. Some believe the practices followed here, later filtered down into mainland Britain with many of the structures being older than the stone circle of Stonehenge.

The Stones of Stenness

The Stones of Stenness established around 3100 BCE is often referred to as the circle of the living with just four of the original twelve monoliths still in situ. It has been suggested the hearth at the centre was used during large festivals with a large number of animal bones having been found nearby. Being a mixture of livestock and deer, this shows the locals still hunted as well as farmed.

Ring of Brodgar

The nearby Ring of Brodgar in comparison was originally made up of a circle of sixty stones, with twenty-seven remaining in situ, erected sometime between 3000 – 2500 BCE. One theory suggests each local community may have dragged a stone to the circle in remembrance of their deceased, so making this the circle of the dead.

Separated from the Stones of Stenness by an isthmus, spiritually speaking, the ness of Brodgar created a link between the dead and living. Recent excavations have found evidence of a temple complex. You would have walked through this complex to get between the living and the dead (two stone circles).

Being in a natural depression with hills circling the site, it must have been awe-inspiring catching sight of the complex down below for the first time; the location was no accident.

Skara Brae layout

Lastly, we come to the village settlement of Skara Brae uncovered by a winter storm back in 1850. This gave us a settlement inhabited between 3200 BCE and 2200 BCE consisting of eight dwellings linked by low covered passages. The best-preserved Neolithic village in Europe.

Skara Brae dwelling (3200 BCE)

Skara Brae workshop area

Eventually abandoned because of the encroaching sand dunes and possibly because of a build-up of rubbish from over the centuries, it really has given us a well-preserved snapshot of that time in history.

Skara Brae reconstruction

The question remains on why after 75 generations of people, the temple complex of Brodgar was abandoned, the great festivals of feasting stopped and the practice of cairns for the dead abandoned in favour of cremations. Intriguingly, 400 cattle appeared to of been consumed in one last festival with passageways blocked with their bones.

Neolithic Barnhouse village (3000 BCE)

Maybe the wetter climate led to less favourable farming conditions, so shaking the belief of the people. Possibly the evolvement of a more hierarchical society led to a less communal outlook while new ways of thinking and metalworking technologies were always going to spread from mainland Britain, although the Ocadians seem to of resisted these longer than most. Whatever the reason, it has left us a fascinating landscape to explore today.