"evidence of permanent settlements and farming. This includes the well-preserved stone house at Knap of Howar on Papa Westray, dating from around 3500 BCE and the village of similar houses at Skara Brae on West Mainland, Orkney from about 500 years later. Evidence of prehistoric farming includes small plots of improved land, with simple stone boundaries. On Shetland these have been found under peat and on the mainland they are associated with cairnfields (piles of rocks that have been cleared from fields). Archaeological evidence of pollen, pottery, settlements and human remains indicates that the two main sources of food were"
"Skara Brae Skara Brae is a stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. Consisting of eight clustered houses, it was occupied from roughly 3180 BC to about 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"". Older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids, it has been called the ""Scottish Pompeii"" because of its excellent preservation. In the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland,"
"Finstown Finstown in the parish of Firth on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland is the third-largest settlement on the island. According to travel author Eric Linklater, the homes in Finstown are tidy and well cared for. This settlement is situated along the Bay of Firth, whose fringe is a shallow intertidal mudflat. Finstown is situated at the junction of the A965 and the A966. Prehistoric finds have been made in the form of ancient cists, somewhat west of the primary school. Further east towards Kirkwall is the Rennibister Earth House, estimated to be 3000 years old. Formerly called ""Toon o' Firth"", the"
"building in northern Europe. There is also a site currently under excavation at Links of Noltland on Westray that appears to have similarities to Skara Brae. ""The Heart of Neolithic Orkney"" was inscribed as a World Heritage site in December 1999. In addition to Skara Brae the site includes Maeshowe, the Ring of Brodgar, the Standing Stones of Stenness and other nearby sites. It is managed by Historic Scotland, whose ""Statement of Significance"" for the site begins: Skara Brae Skara Brae is a stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, the largest"
"aurora borealis can occasionally be seen on the northern horizon during moderate auroral activity. There are numerous important prehistoric remains in Orkney, especially from the Neolithic period, four of which form the Heart of Neolithic Orkney UNESCO World Heritage Site that was inscribed in 1999: Skara Brae; Maes Howe; the Stones of Stenness; and Ring of Brodgar. The Knap of Howar Neolithic farmstead situated on the island of Papa Westray is probably the oldest preserved house in northern Europe. This structure was inhabited for 900 years from 3700 BC but was evidently built on the site of an even older"
"amazingly preserved by prevalent use of the local stone which appears on the shore ready-split into convenient building slabs. There are many other examples across the country, many under the care of Historic Scotland. At the wonderfully well preserved stone house at Knap of Howar on the Orkney island of Papa Westray (occupied from 3500 BC to 3100 BC) the walls stand to a low eaves height, and the stone furniture is intact. Evidence from middens shows that the inhabitants kept cattle, sheep and pigs, farmed barley and wheat and gathered shellfish, as well as fishing for species which must"
"prehistoric monuments including the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar. This article incorporates text from Wilson, Rev. John ""The Gazetteer of Scotland"" (Edinburgh, 1882) Published by W. & A.K. Johnstone Stenness Stenness (pronounced ) is a village and parish on the Orkney Mainland in Scotland. It contains several notable prehistoric monuments including the Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar. Stenness parish adjoins the southern extremity of the Loch of Stenness, and also some notable standing stones. It is bounded on the west by the efflux of the loch, and a branch of Hoy Sound, and"
"Stenness Stenness (pronounced ) is a village and parish on the Orkney Mainland in Scotland. It contains several notable prehistoric monuments including the Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar. Stenness parish adjoins the southern extremity of the Loch of Stenness, and also some notable standing stones. It is bounded on the west by the efflux of the loch, and a branch of Hoy Sound, and has been politically merged with Firth. In Old Norse: ""Steinnes"" or ""Steinsnes"" means headland/peninsula of the stone. The area has been inhabited for a considerable time. Near the village are several notable"
"shape-shifting mer-people, from the island of Eynhallow. Evie, Orkney Evie (pronounced ) is a parish and village on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. The parish is located in the north-west of the Mainland, between Birsay and Rendall, forming the coastline opposite the isle of Rousay. Within the parish are a number of prehistoric features, including Gurness, an Iron Age broch that overlooks Eynhallow Sound. Evie is home to two large dairy farms called Dale and Georth as well as Burgar farm. There are also a few beef farms. This is due to the very good quality of soil contained in this area"
"Mainland, Orkney The Mainland is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections. Seventy-five per cent of Orkney's population live on the island, which is more densely populated than the other islands of the archipelago. The lengthy history of the island's occupation has provided numerous important archaeological sites and the sandstone bedrock provides a platform for fertile farmland. There is an abundance of wildlife, especially seabirds. The name Mainland is a corruption of the Old Norse ""Meginland"". Formerly the island"
"Evie, Orkney Evie (pronounced ) is a parish and village on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. The parish is located in the north-west of the Mainland, between Birsay and Rendall, forming the coastline opposite the isle of Rousay. Within the parish are a number of prehistoric features, including Gurness, an Iron Age broch that overlooks Eynhallow Sound. Evie is home to two large dairy farms called Dale and Georth as well as Burgar farm. There are also a few beef farms. This is due to the very good quality of soil contained in this area of Orkney. All three dairy farms contribute"
"Standing Stones of Stenness The Standing Stones of Stenness is a Neolithic monument five miles northeast of Stromness on the mainland of Orkney, Scotland. This may be the oldest henge site in the British Isles. Various traditions associated with the stones survived into the modern era and they form part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site. They are looked after by Historic Scotland as a scheduled monument. The surviving stones are sited on a promontory at the south bank of the stream that joins the southern ends of the sea loch Loch of Stenness and the freshwater"
"Stronsay Stronsay is an island in Orkney, Scotland. It is known as Orkney's 'Island of Bays', owing to an irregular shape with miles of coastline, with three large bays separated by two isthmuses: St Catherine's Bay to the west, the Bay of Holland to the south and Mill Bay to the east. Stronsay is in area, and in altitude at its highest point. It has a usually resident population of 349. The main village is Whitehall, home to a heritage centre. Sights on the island include the Vat of Kirbister, a natural arch described as the ""finest in Orkney"", white"
"of the mainland lies West of Kirkwall, with comparatively little land lying East of Kirkwall. West Mainland parishes are: Stromness, Sandwick, Birsay, Harray, Stenness, Orphir, Evie, Rendall and Firth. East Mainland Parishes are: St Ola, Tankerness, St Andrews, Holm and Deerness. The island is mostly low-lying (especially East Mainland) but with coastal cliffs to the north and west and two sizeable lochs: the Loch of Harray and the Loch of Stenness. The Mainland contains the remnants of numerous Neolithic, Pictish and Viking constructions. Four of the main Neolithic sites are included in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site,"
"Arctic species ""Primula stricta"" and ""Primula scandinavica"". Mainland, Orkney The Mainland is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections. Seventy-five per cent of Orkney's population live on the island, which is more densely populated than the other islands of the archipelago. The lengthy history of the island's occupation has provided numerous important archaeological sites and the sandstone bedrock provides a platform for fertile farmland. There is an abundance of wildlife, especially seabirds. The name Mainland is a corruption of"
"groups of settlers began building stone houses on what is now Scottish soil in the Neolithic era, around 6,000 years ago, and the first villages around 500 years later. Neolithic habitation sites are particularly common and well-preserved in the Northern and Western Isles, where a lack of trees led to most structures being built of local stone. The stone building at Knap of Howar at Papa Westray, Orkney is one of the oldest surviving houses in north-west Europe, making use of locally gathered rubble in a dry-stone construction, it was probably occupied for 900 years, between 3700 and 2800 BCE."
"Kirkwall Kirkwall (Scottish Gaelic: ""Bàgh na h-Eaglaise"") is the largest settlement and capital of Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name ""Kirkjuvagr"" (""Church Bay""), which later changed to ""Kirkvoe"", ""Kirkwaa"" and ""Kirkwall"". The town is first mentioned in ""Orkneyinga saga"" in the year 1046 when it is recorded as the residence of Rögnvald Brusason the Earl of Orkney, who was killed by his uncle Thorfinn the Mighty. In 1486, King James III of Scotland elevated Kirkwall to the status of a royal burgh. On the west edge of the town,"
"Westray Westray is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, with a usual resident population of just under 600 people. Its main village is Pierowall, with a heritage centre, the 15th-century Lady Kirk church and pedestrian ferry service to Papa Westray. With an area of , it is the sixth largest of the Orkney Islands. The underlying geology is Rousay type Middle Old Red Sandstone, the flagstones of which make excellent building materials. There is very little peat and the soil is noted for its fertility. At the time of the earliest known settlements, c. 3500 BC, in Westray and"
"Navigation Company (later P&O Scottish Ferries) were named ""St Ola"". Prof John Tait was born here in 1878. St Ola St Ola is a parish in Mainland, Orkney. It is in the centre of the island, east of the parish Firth and north of Holm. It contains the capital and largest town of the Orkney archipelago, Kirkwall. Both Kirkwall (, church-bay) and St Ola may take their name from the church of St. Olaf, built about 1035 on the north bank of the Willow burn, which stands just below the local primary school. Highland Park, the most northerly Scotch whisky"
"largest leisure centre, is located in Kirkwall. It contains two pools, an indoor sports arena, squash courts, climbing wall, athletics track, synthetic and grass pitches and various exercise/gym studios. Kirkwall Grammar School Sports Centre has indoor sports facilities, and grass and synthetic pitches, available to the public. Kirkwall Kirkwall (Scottish Gaelic: ""Bàgh na h-Eaglaise"") is the largest settlement and capital of Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name ""Kirkjuvagr"" (""Church Bay""), which later changed to ""Kirkvoe"", ""Kirkwaa"" and ""Kirkwall"". The town is first mentioned in ""Orkneyinga saga"" in the year"
"Heart of Neolithic Orkney Heart of Neolithic Orkney refers to a group of Neolithic monuments found on the Mainland, one of the islands of Orkney, Scotland. The name was adopted by UNESCO when it proclaimed these sites as a World Heritage Site in 1999. The site of patrimony currently consists of four sites: Ness of Brodgar is an archaeological site between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness that has provided evidence of housing, decorated stone slabs, a massive stone wall with foundations, and a large building described as a Neolithic ""cathedral"". Although it is not part of"
"is believed to exceed the size of Skara Brae on the Orkney mainland. The ruins are being backfilled to protect them from winter storms. Another 2009 discovery is that of a large building for collective use described as a ""village hall"". The structure overlooks the main settlement and would have been about wide and had walls thick. Other finds are revealing a remarkably detailed picture of life in the settlement over a long period of time spanning the Neolithic and early Bronze Age. It is clear that the residents farmed crops such as barley, kept livestock such as cattle and"
"Birsay Birsay (Old Norse: ""Birgisherað"") is a parish in the north west corner of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland. Almost all the land in the parish is devoted to agriculture: chiefly grassland used to rear beef cattle. There are various ancient monuments in the parish. Two important ancient monuments are maintained by Historic Scotland and bring many visitors to the area in summer. These are the prehistoric and Norse settlements on the tidal island of Brough of Birsay and the ruins of the Earl's Palace on the Mainland opposite, at the northern end of the village. On the western part"
"Point of Ayre (Orkney) Point of Ayre ( ) is a headland in the parish of Deerness, on the Eastern side of Orkney Mainland, off the northern coast of mainland Scotland. Overlooking the Copinsay Pass, it lies 4 miles (6 km) south of Mull Head, and around 10 miles from Kirkwall, the main town on the island. At Point of Ayre is a seven-metre thick basalt lava flow. At its top surface are relict gas bubble holes now filled with carbonate. Lower down, the lava has weathered in an ""onion-skin"" or spheroidal pattern, which is an unusual feature in Orkney."
"Point of Ayre (Orkney) Point of Ayre ( ) is a headland in the parish of Deerness, on the Eastern side of Orkney Mainland, off the northern coast of mainland Scotland. Overlooking the Copinsay Pass, it lies 4 miles (6 km) south of Mull Head, and around 10 miles from Kirkwall, the main town on the island. At Point of Ayre is a seven-metre thick basalt lava flow. At its top surface are relict gas bubble holes now filled with carbonate. Lower down, the lava has weathered in an ""onion-skin"" or spheroidal pattern, which is an unusual feature in Orkney."
"have been inhabited for at least years, originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes and then by the Picts. Orkney contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, and the ""Heart of Neolithic Orkney"" is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. Orkney was invaded and forcibly annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse. The Scottish Parliament then re-annexed the earldom to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry for James III's bride Margaret of Denmark. Orkney is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, a constituency of the"
"Broch of Gurness The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village on the northeast coast of Mainland Orkney in Scotland overlooking Eynhallow Sound, about 15 miles north-west of Kirkwall. It once housed a substantial community. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there"
"Pierowall Pierowall is a village of Westray in the Orkney Islands, off the coast of the northern Scottish mainland. The village is the island's largest settlement and lies near its northern end, around Pierowall Bay. It has a variety of historical remains dating from the Neolithic, the Iron Age, the Middle Ages, and later, including a large pagan Norse cemetery. Although it is only a village on an island which had a total population of 563 at the census of 2001, Pierowall has a post office, a bank, a junior high school, shops, a hotel, and a fire station. Supplementing"
"Orphir Orphir (pronounced , Old Norse: Jorfjara/Orfjara) is a parish and settlement on Mainland, Orkney. It is approximately southwest of Kirkwall, and comprises a seaboard tract of about 7 by 3½ miles (11 by 5½ km), and includes Cava and the Holm of Houton. The coast includes Houton Head, about , but all elsewhere is nearly level; and the interior is an assemblage of vales and hills, the latter culminating at about above sea level, and commanding fine views. A chief residence was the Hall of Clestrain; and chief antiquities include the ruins of Earl Paul's Palace, remains of pre-Reformation"
"blanket peat bog, the acidity of which, combined with high level of wind and salt spray, made most of the islands treeless. The existence of hills, mountains, quicksands and marshes made internal communication and conquest extremely difficult. Mesolithic hunter-gatherer encampments are the first known settlements in the country, and archaeologists have dated an encampment near Biggar to around 8500 BC. Neolithic farming brought permanent settlements, and the wonderfully well preserved stone house at Knap of Howar on Papa Westray dating from 3500 BC predates by about 500 years the village of similar houses at Skara Brae on West Mainland, Orkney."
"St Ola St Ola is a parish in Mainland, Orkney. It is in the centre of the island, east of the parish Firth and north of Holm. It contains the capital and largest town of the Orkney archipelago, Kirkwall. Both Kirkwall (, church-bay) and St Ola may take their name from the church of St. Olaf, built about 1035 on the north bank of the Willow burn, which stands just below the local primary school. Highland Park, the most northerly Scotch whisky distillery, is on the outskirts of Kirkwall. Several ships of the North of Scotland, Orkney & Shetland Steam"
"Sands of Evie The Sands of Evie is a sandy beach landform near the village of Evie on Mainland Orkney, Scotland, protected by the Point of Hellia headland . This beach forms the southern boundary of Aikerness Bay, an element of Eynhallow Sound. Immediately to the east is Gurness, a rather well preserved Iron Age broch. According to C.Michael Hogan the Gurness Broch is of drystone construction and ""the Iron Age round tower fort is flanked by a number of ancillary structures and impressive concentric ditch and rampart outer defences; moreover, the rocky shoreline cliffs posed a formidable approach for"
"Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of Great Britain. Orkney is 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of the coast of Caithness and comprises approximately 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, Mainland, is often referred to as ""the Mainland"". It has an area of , making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. The largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall. A form of the name dates to the pre-Roman era and the islands"