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Zero for Neolithic Orkney is the narrow neck of land
that separates Lochs Harray and Stenness, by far the
two largest in the islands. The surrounding countryside
slopes gently up in all directions and the sites are
visible for miles around. To the southwest the high
hills of Hoy, Ward Hill and Cuilags, dominate the horizon.
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of the most important features of the landscape is the
great passage grave at Maes Howe, a work of prehistoric
architectural genius comparable to the Boyne Valley
tombs in Ireland and the temples of Malta. The entrance
passage is aligned towards Ward Hill on Hoy and the
midwinter sunset. That this was no mere coincidence
is shown by the fact that a tall standing stone, the
Barnhouse Stone, was set up to mark the line of sight. |
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| Maes
Howe |
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Maes
Howe. The Tomb and the Barnhouse Stone |
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The
entrance passage to Maes Howe |
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| The
Stones of Stenness |
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stones (of which only four out of the original twelve
survive) are set at the centre of a circular enclosure
44 metres across. The circle is defined by a bank and
ditch and known as a henge. The central setting was
originally made up of a ring of 12 tall upright stones
of which only four survive today. |
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The
Stones of Stenness looking towards Hoy. |
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entrance to the site is to the north and leads to a
rectangular, stone-lined hearth at the centre. On the
same axis is a smaller structure made up of three stones
known as the ‘dolmen’ and thought by earlier
investigators to be a sacrificial altar. This is most
certainly not the case but it is difficult to determine
exactly what its function was. It may be coincidence
but the two uprights frame the tomb at Maes Howe when
you look directly between them. |
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The
Stones of Stenness. The ‘dolmen’ |
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The
Stones of Stenness. View through the dolmen to Maes
Howe |
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150 metres north of the Stones of Stenness, on the shore
of Loch Harray, is the contemporary village of Barnhouse.
The formal layout of the buildings, which bears a close
resemblance to the design of the tomb at Maes how, and
the fact that the largest building was set within its
own enclosure has led scholars to believe that the village
was home to a community of priests. |
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Barnhouse |
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the near end of the causeway that separates Lochs Harray
and Stenness is a solitary monolith known as the Watch
Stone. Originally it was one of a pair that formed a
sort of portal linking the Stones of Stenness with the
Ring of Brodgar 1.2 kilometers away to the northwest. |
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The
Watchstone |
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| The
Ring of Brodgar |
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The
Ring of Brodgar from the Southeast with the Comet
Stone in the foreground. |
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a diameter of c. 123 metres, the Ring of Brodgar is
much larger than the Stones of Stenness and probably
had 60 stones altogether. The approach to the site from
Stenness is marked by a setting of stones, of which
only one, the Comet Stone, survives. |
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The
Comet Stone and the Ring of Brodgar |
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in the way of excavation has been conducted at Brodgar
and none at all in the centre of the site and the exact
nature of its relationship with Stenness is still a
mystery. Current excavations on the Ness of Brodgar,
which lies mid-way between the two, may help clarify
the problem. |
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View
of the Ring of Brodgar showing the surrounding bank
and ditch |
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