Heart of Neolithic Orkney

Heart of Neolithic Orkney refers to a group of Neolithic monuments found on Mainland, one of the islands of Orkney, Scotland. The name was adopted by UNESCO when it proclaimed these sites as a World Heritage Site in 1999.^[1]

Heart of Neolithic Orkney

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Excavated dwellings at Skara Brae, Europe's most complete Neolithic village.
Location	Orkney, United Kingdom
Includes	Maeshowe Stones of Stenness Ring of Brodgar Skara Brae
Criteria	Cultural: (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
Reference	514bis
Inscription	1999 (23rd Session)
Extensions	2015
Area	15 ha (37 acres)
Buffer zone	6,258 ha (15,460 acres)
Coordinates	58°59′45.8″N 3°11′19.2″W
Location of Heart of Neolithic Orkney in Scotland Show map of Scotland Heart of Neolithic Orkney (the United Kingdom) Show map of the United Kingdom

The Ring of Brodgar

There are five sites on Mainland:

1. Skara Brae – a cluster of ten houses making up Northern Europe’s best-preserved Neolithic village.^[2]
2. Ring of Brodgar – a stone circle 104 metres in diameter, originally composed of 60 stones set within a circular ditch up to 3 metres deep and 10 metres wide, forming a henge monument. It has been estimated that the structure took 80,000 man-hours to construct.^[3][4]
3. Standing stones of Stenness – the four remaining megaliths of a henge, the largest of which is 6 metres (19 ft) high.^[4][5]
4. Ness of Brodgar is an archaeological site between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness that has provided evidence of housing, decorated stone slabs, a massive stone wall with foundations, and a large building described as a Neolithic 'cathedral'.^[6][7]
5. Maeshowe – a unique chambered cairn and passage grave, aligned so that its central chamber is illuminated on the winter solstice. It was looted by Vikings who left one of the largest collection of runic inscriptions in the world.^[8][9]

Related pages

• List of World Heritage Sites of the United Kingdom

References

1. UNESCO, "Heart of Neolithic Orkney". Retrieved 2012-4-19. Archived 2012-04-29 at the Wayback Machine
2. "Skara Brae Prehistoric Village" Archived 2016-05-05 at the Wayback Machine Historic Scotland. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
3. " The Ring o' Brodgar, Stenness" Archived 2017-07-15 at the Wayback Machine. Orkneyjar. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
4. Wickham-Jones, Caroline 2007. Orkney: a historical guide. Edinburgh: Birlinn, 28–29. ISBN 1-84158-596-3
5. "The Standing Stones o' Stenness" Archived 2017-06-07 at the Wayback Machine. Orkneyjar. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
6. Towrie, Sigurd (16 August 2007) "Stone wall hints at Neolithic spiritual barrier"Orkneyjar. Retrieved 17 September 2008. Archived 12 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
7. Ross, John and Hartley, David (14 August 2009) " 'Cathedral' as old as Stonehenge unearthed." Edinburgh. The Scotsman. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
8. "Maeshowe" Archived 2017-06-16 at the Wayback Machine. Orkneyjar. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
9. BBC program: {