Skara Brae Boundary Wall Extension — Bay of Skaill Middens
Bay of Skaill Middens
Late Neolithic (3180–2500 BCE)·Grooved Ware Orkney·🇬🇧 Orkney, Mainland, Sandwick, United Kingdom
About
About Skara Brae Boundary Wall Extension — Bay of Skaill Middens
Skara extension excavated by Clarke 1928–30 and recent erosion exposures, middens with pottery, bone tools and dyke wall. Recorded context — Period: Late Neolithic (3180–2500 BCE); Culture: Grooved Ware Orkney; Field status: excavated; Materials: flagstone, midden, sand; Condition: buried — dune.
Why it mattersKey Grooved Ware Orkney ancient-village with stratified sequence and regional typology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Construction labor organization
- 02Collapse cause
Theories
- 01Observatory
- 02Ceremonial centre
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 3180 BCE village; wall c.3100 BCE
- Period
- Late Neolithic (3180–2500 BCE)
- Culture
- Grooved Ware Orkney
- Purpose
- Neolithic village boundary dyke and middens beyond Skara Brae houses — dune-buried settlement field system
- Rediscovered
- Modern excavation 1859
- Excavation
- Excavated
1990 excavation
Modern rediscovery and scientific excavation of Skara Brae Boundary Wall Extension — Bay of Skaill Middens
c. 3180 BCE village; wall c.3100 BCE
Initial construction / first occupation at Skara Brae Boundary Wall Extension — Bay of Skaill Middens
On the ground
Structures & features
59.0480° N · 3.3430° W · 7 m · 4 mapped features
- Skara Brae Boundary Wall Extension — Bay of Skaill Middens — Principal Structurestructurestructure at Skara Brae Boundary Wall Extension — Bay of Skaill Middens — outlier feature59.0476° N · 3.3418° W
- Skara Brae Boundary Wall Extension — Bay of Skaill Middens — Northern Complexcomplexcomplex at Skara Brae Boundary Wall Extension — Bay of Skaill Middens — primary structure59.0480° N · 3.3411° W
- Skara Brae Boundary Wall Extension — Bay of Skaill Middens — Southern Rock Artrock artrock art at Skara Brae Boundary Wall Extension — Bay of Skaill Middens — primary structure59.0461° N · 3.3448° W
- Skara Brae Boundary Wall Extension — Bay of Skaill Middens — Eastern Structurestructurestructure at Skara Brae Boundary Wall Extension — Bay of Skaill Middens — hydraulic feature59.0476° N · 3.3441° W
Gallery