Skara Brae Experience Day

Skara Brae

Skara Brae is a remarkably well preserved Stone Age village built in

the Neolithic period, around 3000 BC.

It was discovered in 1850, after a heavy storm stripped away the earth that had previously been covering what we can see today.

Orkney is off the North coast of

Scotland. Skara Brae can be found

on Mainland, the largest of
the

Orkneys.

The remains of eight houses stand on the site. They were not all built at the same time, so at some point the original village was

added to. Apart from one building, which stands slightly

separate from the others, the layout of the houses is very similar.

The houses were linked by

covered passageways.

Photo courtesy of wronski and shadowgate (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

The earlier houses had more of a circular shape. There was one
main room with a fire pit in the
middle, and beds built into the
walls at the sides.

Photo courtesy of wronski and shadowgate (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

The later houses were slightly
bigger and more rectangular,
although the corners were still
rounded. They still built stone
beds, but not into the walls. The
fire pit and stone shelves
remained.

Each house also
had a set of stone shelves, called a dresser.

Although the doorways
seem very small to us, early
humans were shorter than
we are today.

Lower doorways would
also have helped keep the weather out.

The doors were stone
slabs, and could be bolted shut.

Photo courtesy of wronski and shadowgate (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

At first glance, house seven is the same as all the others. However,

it’s worth looking a little more closely.

Photo courtesy of wronski and shadowgate (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

Some interesting facts about house seven:

• The bodies of two women

were found in a stone grave under a wall. They were buried before the house was built. This could have been part of a ritual.

• The door could only be bolted

from the outside. The people
inside the house would not be able to leave of their own free will.

• Unlike the other passageways,

the passage to house seven went only to house seven.

What could these facts tell us?

What do you think the house might

have been used for?

No. 7

House eight stands alone. It had carved patterns on
the walls and no beds or shelves. It could have been a workshop or

meeting place, or simply built on the site at a later date.

There were no windows, but there
may have been a smoke hole in the roof. There would have been some light from the fire. As wood was scarce on the Orkney Islands, they were more likely to have burnt seaweed, dried animal dung and peat.

No. 8

Some people today who live in small apartments might have the same area of living space.

With straw and heather to make mattresses and animal skins for blankets, it would have been relatively cosy – at least compared to outside!

The walls of the houses were built
against ‘midden’, piles of discarded rubbish that would have protected the walls from the elements as well as provide a layer of insulation.

None of the houses have a roof, so they must have been made from something that has since perished.

A common early roofing material in Orkney was seaweed, fixed with
ropes and stones.

They could also have used straw,
animal skins or turf, laid over a
frame of driftwood or whale bones found on the shore.

Photo courtesy of wronski and shadowgate (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

What Else Was Found and What

Does it Teach Us?

Animal bones including
cattle and sheep, and barley and wheat grown
nearby, suggest a farming community.

Plentiful remains of fish and
shellfish indicate they were
also skilled fishermen. Large piles of limpets were found, but these weren’t necessarily part of their diet, they may have been used for bait.

The lack of weapons
found suggest that life
was peaceful.

Richly carved stone
objects might have
been used for religious
rituals.

Bone tools, along with the absence of tools for weaving, indicate that animal skins were used for clothing.

Many examples of jewellery were found
including pendants, pins,
necklaces and beads.

Think, Pair, Share:

Is this a fiction or non-fiction text?

What makes you think this?

Think, Pair, Share:

What do you think the purpose of this text is?

Explain how you know?

explain

instruct

inform

persuade

entertain describe

• ​Heading

• Question

• Direct address

• Sub heading

• Location

• Sub heading

• Amenities

• ​Sub heading

• Sensory experience

• Sub heading

• Options

• Testimonial

• Call to action