Why is Skara Brae so significant?
Skara Brae is one of the best well preserved Neolithic villages that has been discovered.
It was home to a farming community on the Orkney Islands and was rediscovered in 1850.
Many circular homes and artefacts (objects that were made by people in the past) were found there. These included bones and tools. Archaeologists have studied them to understand more about the New Stone Age and its people.
Important words
Important words on Skara Brae.
| Keyword | Definition |
|---|---|
| Archaeologist | Someone who studies objects and places from the past. |
| Artefacts | Objects that were made by people in the past. |
| Erosion | A natural process when forces like water, wind or ice slowly wear away rocks and soil. |
| Evidence | Facts or information which suggests something is true or false. |
| Neolithic | The ‘new’ Stone Age. People began to settle in one place and farm. |
| Prehistoric | The time in the past before written records. |
| Preserved | When something is kept in its original state and protected from being damaged or harmed over a long period of time. |
| Settlement | A place where people live and sometimes work. |
| UNESO World Heritage Site | Special places around the world which hold significant value for humanity. These places are chosen by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. |
What is Skara Brae?
Created in partnership with Historic Environment Scotland
Skara Brae is the best-preserved Neolithic (also known as the ‘new’ Stone Age) village in northern Europe.
It is a prehistoric settlement (a place where people live and sometimes work) where an early farming community lived around 5,000 years ago.
It is a Recognised locations or landmarks of cultural, historical or scientific significance..
Watch: Discover Skara Brae
Pupils from Stenness Community School in Orkney visited Skara Brae to learn about its history.
Watch the video to find out what they discovered.
Hi, we're pupils from Santa Community School, and this is our film about Scara Bray.
Off the very northern tip of Scotland on the islands of Orkney, you can visit a very special ancient village called Sarbury.
It was built about 5000 years ago, which makes it even older than the Pyramids of Egypt.
Scarbury was abandoned around 2500 BC.
It was covered in sand for a long time and no one knew it was there until about 170 years ago, a big storm blew the sand away.
Archaeologists are people who are interested in people and objects from the past.
The houses and objects from Scarbury are very useful for helping them to understand the lives of the people that lived in the period we call the Neolithic.
The Neolithic period lasted from 4000 BC to 2500 BC.
The main walls were built by placing stones on top of each other.
This is called dry stone walling, which doesn't need cement or mortar to stick them together.
The walls themselves were comprised of an inner wall and an outer wall with midden in between.
Midden is household rubbish which decomposes a bit like compost.
The stone houses didn't have any windows and only had one room with a fireplace in the middle.
It wouldn't have been dark though as the fire would have given light and warmth.
They may have burned animal fat for extra light.
By examining the bones and shells left behind from the Neolithic times, we know the villagers ate lots of fish and shellfish, plus meat from cows, sheep and pigs.
Some of the other foods they ate included birds, eggs, wild plants, seeds and hazelnuts.
We know they had pots with lids for storing food.
The lids also kept food safe from beasties and even hungry dogs.
We know there were dogs at Skara Brae because the archaeologists found ancient dog poo in the midden.
The people made their tools from stone, bone and antler because they didn't have any plastic or metal.
Archaeologists think that one of the houses was a workshop where they made pottery and tools.
These days there are no roofs left on the houses, which means that you can look inside and see the stone furniture is still surviving after thousands of years.
We hope you've learned something interesting about Skara Brae and maybe someday you can visit us here on our bonny Islands of Orkney.
This film is a collaboration between the L.A.B Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland.
Where is Skara Brae?
Skara Brae is on the Orkney Islands which are off the north coast of Scotland.
It was discovered in 1850 when a big storm blew away some of the sand covering the Neolitihic period houses.
Being near the sea meant the Neolithic people would have been able to catch fish to eat, as well as shellfish like winkles and limpets.
The coastline would have been further away than it is today.
Centuries of coastal erosion, when forces like water, wind or ice slowly wear away rocks and soil, has brought it much closer to Skara Brae.
Behind Skara Brae is the Loch of Skaill.
It's a freshwater loch (the Gaelic word for a ‘lake’) where the people of Skara Brae could have caught trout and eels.
Slideshow: Take a tour of Skara Brae
Click through the slideshow to see more of the ancient village of Skara Brae.
Image caption, Skara Brae is a 5000 year old Neolithic village lying in the Bay of Skaill, the Orkney Islands, Scotland. It's older than the pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
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What were homes like on Skara Brae?
Most Neolithic people built houses with wooden frames, but on the Orkney Islands, there aren't many trees.
Neolithic people at Skara Brae built their houses from stone.
The village is made up of a group of one-roomed circular homes.
The houses have built-in furniture made completely from stone.
There are stone cupboards and beds and even stone shelves where precious objects were kept!
Today, the homes at Skara Brae are open to the air, but they were probably covered with roofs of material, turf or grasses.
Each home would have been linked by a set of covered passageways, so people could visit whilst keeping warm and dry.
Watch: Take a tour inside a Stone Age house at Skara Brae
What was inside a Neolithic home?
The dresser would have been the first thing you would see when you came through the door. It was clearly important. What kind of things would they have placed on it?
Well, think of what people display today in their homes - things important to them, things that make statements about them.
Though 5,000 years ago, there weren’t any clocks or picture frames. These beautiful objects are the kind of things that would have been displayed there.
As you sat on the large stone seat directly in front of the dresser, you'd have a clear view of the door and be able to see whoever crawled in.
As they entered, they'd have to look up at you. The door itself is only lockable from the inside. So when you came in here, you’d be able to shut the outside world out, have privacy.
We think a bone, or a piece of wood, could have been used to hold the door in place. But today all that remains are the holes in the stone which held the bar.
Once your guest had arrived and the door was closed, you could offer fresh fish and meat cooked on the fire. And in winter, smoked meat stored in the smoky roof space would be available.
Huge storage jars, too big to be brought in through the door, were buried in the corner of the house. The top of these pots were beautifully decorated and the area where they sat was surrounded by stone to protect them from being bumped and broken.
Who lived at Skara Brae?
Skara Brae was the home of a Neolithic farming community.
The people who lived here were able to grow some crops and they kept cows, sheep and pigs.
Image source, Historic Environment Scotland
Image source, Historic Environment ScotlandThese animals were their main sources of food, providing meat, milk and cheese.
They gathered natural resources from nearby, such as birds eggs, wild herbs and plants.
The Neolithic people also hunted.
They used the antlers from the deer for making tools.
Being near the sea meant the Neolithic people would have been able to catch fish to eat.
They went fishing for both sea fish and freshwater fish.
Behind Skara Brae is the Loch of Skaill.
It's a freshwater loch where the people of Skara Brae could have caught trout and eels.
They also collected shellfish such as oysters, winkles and limpets.
Image source, Historic Environment ScotlandWhat did the people of Skara Brae wear?
Image source, Historic Environment ScotlandPeople at Skara Brae probably wore animal skins and fleeces.
Experts have found large amounts of jewellery at Skara Brae, including pins, beads and pendants.
These beads are made from animal's and bird's:
- bones
- teeth
- antlers
- tusks
Image source, Historic Environment ScotlandHow do we know about Skara Brae ?
Even though Neolithic people lived at Skara Brae over 5000 years ago, archaeologists have studied its well-preserved remains to understand what life was like in the New Stone Age.
One of the reasons Skara Brae is so well preserved, or kept in good condition, is because many things there, such as houses and beds, were made from stone.
This meant they were able to survive a very long time, leading to their discovery in 1850.
There were also no trees on the island, so any wood the Neolithic people would have had access to would have been used for tools.
Image source, Historic Environment ScotlandMany of the artefacts found at Skara Brae, such as gaming dice, tools, pottery, jewellery and carved stone objects, also gave archaeologists ideas about what the Neolithic people’s daily lives may have been like.
No one knows the real reason why Skara Brae was abandoned around 2500BC.
One popular idea was that the Neolithic people suddenly left to escape a sandstorm, but other archaeologists believe people gradually left the settlement over a number of years.
When it was abandoned, other monuments, influenced by Skara Brae, began to appear on the mainland, such as Maeshow Chambered Cain. This was a chambered tomb.
Some historians believe this means people from Skara Brae may have moved elsewhere within Orkney.
Image source, Historic Environment ScotlandThink like a historian
Have a look at the thinking points below and think about your answer to each question. You could even write them down on a piece of paper or discuss them with somebody else if you want to.
The people at Skara Brae built houses which were very similar with a fireplace, beds and a dresser. What does this tell you about the people who lived there?
Skara Brae was abandoned around 2500BC and later, similar monuments appeared on the mainland. What can people learn from this?
Many different artefacts were discovered by archaeologists; such gaming dice and bone jewellery. What does this tell you about the Neolithic people who lived at Skara Brae?
Did you think that the similar houses shows the people had a strong sense of community because they lived in a very similar way to each other? Maybe you thought it shows they were efficient and organised to build houses with such specific uses.
You may have thought that people from Skara Brae may have moved elsewhere and began to rebuild in their new settlements. Perhaps you thought that the building skills and culture of the people from Skara Brae were shared with others when they moved to other settlements.
Maybe you thought the artefacts show how skilled the craftspeople were. They could make beautiful objects from the materials around them. Did you remember that they played games and also made items to make themselves look good? Does making these show that the people of Skara Brae cared about more than just surviving?
Activity 1: Skara Brae quiz
Grown-ups corner
Are you a parent, carer or teacher?
Take a look at some of the links below on KS2 History which are packed full of knowledge, videos, quizzes and activities.
KS2 History: Ancient Voices
BBC Bitesize for Teachers
KS2 History: New Stone Age
BBC Bitesize for Teachers
KS2 History / PSHE and Social Studies: What do ancient bones tell us about the Stone Age?
BBC Bitesize for Teachers
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