04.07.2024 Brodgar!!

 Wow what an exciting day we've had, firstly it was breezy as usual, BUT, there was Blue sky chuffy clouds and SUNSHINE, yes a miracle had occurred, the weather forecast was right. So after breakfast we packed our best cameras and I packed my phone camera. Today we are off to The Stones of Stenness, Ring of Brodgar and the Ness of Brodgar (hopefully to catch the 11.00am tour). There wasn't any parking places at the Stones of Stenness when we arrived so we carried on to the Ring of Brodgar. We were able to park quite close. we had to stay on the path around the stones, they are also protected by a ditch. This ditch was originally 5m wide and 3m deep. Of the stones 27 are still standing of probably an original 60. they are between 2 and 4m high and possibly date from the late Neolithic 2400BC. They are thought to have been Quarried at Sandwick, where there are examples of unused stones still there. We took lots of pictures. Missus also said the the mounds we could see are possible burial sites there are quite a few of them. this piece of land is between two Lochs, Loch Harray and Loch Stenness. There are several stones standing singly in the landscape, but like so many of these sites alignments can be made with the sunrise and sunset, at Equinoxes and Solstices. Experts think this site was also chosen  for observations of the Moon. The Lunar Stanstills that happen every 18.6 years. The latest is 2023-2025. During these times the moon appears to skim the horizon, or at Brodgar the Orphir hills that can be seen from the site. I was a little disappointed that we couldn't climb the standing stones at Brodgar. I wanted to show off my climbing prowess being a bear.

                  This stone at the Ring of Brodgar had a profile like an Easter Island Moa

                                                                       More Stones from the Ring of Brodgar.

Master, Missus Morgan and I at the Ring of Brodgar

So we drove along to the Ness of Brodgar, this is an amazing archaeological dig of houses from the Neolithic times, but there isn't just a cluster of building, but buildings built on top of each other. So we were able to join the 11.00am tour, there was about 50 humans 1 moose and 2 bears! The other a Polar bear was very friendly and hugged me. The guide took us to various parts of the site and explained about the various types of buildings found there. Some of these places had collapsed, because they had been built on top of a previous place, they were quite unstable. Some had stone slabs for rooves, not very safe. Still some of these collapsed houses had plenty of artifacts from many places remaining in them which will keep experts and conservators'  busy for many years to come. Pottery from many places, bones and Neolithic Cow bones (Aurochs). This year sadly is the last year of the dig. They have been digging there now for 20 years. After looking at the main dig we were taken to a new area. They called it the mystery pit. It was a mound they have dug into and found the foundations to a most unusual structure. It is Rectangular in shape, had a thick outer wall, a standing stone inner wall and a long low single rectangular stone running along the base of the wall like a skirting board. This room also has a hearth in the centre of it, but why this building is like this is a mystery. They only have 8 weeks to find out! Often the buildings had an inner and outer wall and the gap between was used as a Midden. This dig is truly awe inspiring. After the tour we could walk around at our leisure. Missus went to the shop and bought a book about the place and also a raffle ticket to win a Bronze Sphere. Talking to a lady outside the shop she said that there are artifacts from the dig in the Kirkwall museum, we haven't been there yet, so that needs to be actioned. 

                                           General view of just a small part of the dig at Brodgar

          The mystery building at Ness of Brodgar

Apparently a huge area to either side of the dig has under gone a geophysical survey and there seems to be another even larger settlement near-by. It makes you wonder if this was a great meeting place or just people moving and building in new places because the old places became uninhabitable. 

By now it was lunchtime and we were all hungry so we came back to Stromness  and went and had fish and chips at the Pier Bistro and Takeaway. It was very busy in there and we were happy to wait to be served. The food was good.

As it was such a lovely afternoon we drove back and went to the Stones of Stenness, there was room to park. This pleased Morgan and I as we were able to show our climbing prowess and climb one of the smaller stones. Only four of the standing stones remain. There may have been originally 12 monoliths on the site in a circle of about 30m. One of the stones on the original site had a hole in it and lovers would join hands through it and say the oath of Odin therefore cementing their true love for each other forever. It was also said to have healing powers. Sadly in 1814 the tenant of Barnhouse farm was fed up of people visiting the stones and destroyed the Odin Stone and started removing and breaking up the others for building materials such as Lintels. The threat of court action finally stopped the tenant's vandalism. 

The Standing Stones of Stenness

                                             Morgan and I at Base Camp before our epic climb

Me Climbing one of the stones

I got to the top!

                 So did Morgan Moose

There was Beautiful Lichen on the stones.

We set off for home but decided to find out where the road went to beyond our road, so master drove and the road got a bit narrower, and suddenly we saw a sign for a beach, so we went down there and found a huge Grave Yard. However turning down a narrow road just before the Cemetery we found the beach. Yipee, Morgan and I could go and play on the beach at being Archaeologists, we had a little fork and started to dig and we found a coin, master said it was a two pence piece. It was beautiful and peaceful down on the beach. we saw Starlings, Oyster Catchers, Gulls and Female Eider Ducks. Then it was time to go home for a cup of tea and a rest. Morgan and I are so tired now. 

The Beach we found on the way home

If the weather is nice again another day we might go and see another Neolithic village that is near to the Stones of Stenness. Its  called Barnhouse Village after the Farm that is there.