Skara
Brae is a large stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of
Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. It consists of
ten clustered houses, and was occupied from roughly 3180 BC–2500 BC.
Europe's most complete Neolithic village, Skara Brae gained UNESCO World
Heritage Site status as one of four sites making up "The Heart of
Neolithic Orkney."a Older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids, it has
been called the "Scottish Pompeii" because of its excellent
preservation.
Skara Brae's inhabitants were apparently makers
and users of grooved ware, a distinctive style of pottery that appeared
in northern Scotland not long before the establishment of the village.
The houses used earth sheltering but, being sunk into the ground, they
were built into mounds of pre-existing domestic waste known as
"middens". Although the midden provided the houses with a small degree
of stability, its most important purpose was to act as a layer of
insulation against Orkney's harsh winter climate. On average, the houses
measure about 400 sq ft) in size with a large square room containing a
hearth which would have been used for heating and cooking. Given the
number of homes, it seems likely that no more than fifty people lived in
Skara Brae at any given time.
Skara Brae Prehistoric Village on Orkney
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