Stone Beds…..
Stone beds, display cabinets and an ancient civilization……
All await us, here, in Skara Brae.
Yesterday we visited the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar as well as the Ness of Brodgar and Unstans Tomb…. Great locations which all helped my group to understand a little more about the people who were settling and domesticating Orkney 5500 years ago.
I gather my peeps and walk everyone into the admissions area. Sheila and Duncan are on duty today…. I wave our passes at them and they wave back. We avoid the line which has begun to develope and everyone dashes into the WC. I run into the small but modern cafeteria and order an espresso…. Actually a triple…. And am ready for the tour members as they gather.
Everyone has been prepped…. They all know what to do, where to go and what to see.
I lead them through the small bookshop and out into the site…..
We’re all about to step back in time and are wishing to meet our ancestors.
Our ancestors, had storage cabinets, beds, display cupboards, fish tanks and warmth. Food was abundant, both from the sea, their farms, hunting and gathering. Their lives were pretty good as they had everything necessary to clothe themselves, to entertain themselves, to socialise and to prosper.
Skara Brae is a village from the period that has survived intact because at some point the village folk got up and left…….. leaving their stone buildings behind them, the village was swallowed up by the shifting sands.
I love this place…….
And now I know that another village exists on the Northern side of Skaill Bay, opposite Skara Brae, which dates from the same period….. I hope that someday it will also be excavated and open to visitors….. I go to Orkney frequently and there is so much to see and do