Ancient site · Scotland · Partial ruin

Skara Brae

Skara Brae is a stone-built Neolithic settlement on Mainland, Orkney consisting of a compact cluster of drystone houses linked by low passages. The site preserves ten houses with built-in stone furniture and simple drains and is interpreted as a domestic village occupied in the 4th–3rd millennia BCE. It is part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney UNESCO property and is accessible to visitors today.

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Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

First raised

3179 BC

Its prime

3000 BC

Today

Partial ruin

As it stood in 3000 BC

The shape it held in its prime.

A low, compact group of drystone houses set into a grassy bank on a windswept coast. Thick flat sandstone slabs form walls, lintels and built-in furniture; internal floors are sand or packed earth. Interiors show fixed stone dressers and raised stone beds with short pillar stumps; narrow low doorways and short covered passages link houses. The palette is pale brown, grey and green from lichen and turf, and the cluster sits immediately above coastal sands and the bay.

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9 places to explore in 3000 BC.

The record describes 9 distinct spots at Skara Brae — including 6 interiors: house interior: central hearth and dresser, house 8 workshop area and porch, low doorway with stone slab door and bar-holes and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more of the immersive experience.

Exterior approach from the Bay of SkaillOverview of the excavated cluster and passagesHouse interior: central hearth and dresserHouse 8 workshop area and porchLow doorway with stone slab door and bar-holesInter-house low passagewayBuilt-in stone boxes and storage nichesSub-floor drain channelSettlement edge, eroding foundations and surrounding land

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