Blown Away by Orkney’s Stone Age

Orkney is blanketed with the stony remains of a thriving Neolithic community. And Skara Brae illustrates how these Neolithic people hunkered down in subterranean homes, connected by tunnels and lit only by whale-oil lamps.
I’m here with my crew, filming this underground village for one of three new episodes about Scotland. We made a point to have an hour here before the arrival of the cruise ships. Standing there on that desolate bluff, all alone with these ruins, I marveled at how all of this was accomplished without the use of metal tools. This was the Stone Age - before people learned to use metals. The Stone Age!
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Follow along as I travel through Scotland: blog.ricksteves.com/blog/cate...

[@kathyastrom1315]

You’re finally filming an Orkney segment! When researching my 2012 Britain trip, I was disappointed you hadn’t been there yet. We lucked out-on our four days in mid-July, there were no cruise ships in town, so we were light on tourists to dodge at the main spots. The tourists’ favorites are all worth seeing though, so I recommend to anyone going there not to skip Skara Brae, Maes Howe, the Ring of Brodgar, and the Italian Chapel. Maes Howe has assigned times for everyone, so you just have to book it ahead of time. But don’t miss the other wonderful sites there-the cathedral and two castles in the heart of Kirkwall, the two brochs, and if there are no mobility issues, Mine Howe and the Tomb of the Eagles. And save your money for the shopping-jewelry, pottery, yarn for knitting or sweaters already made, lovely prints, as well as the usual knickknacks (I love my Skara Brae fridge magnet of the dresser standing in relief). I missed seeing the dig at the Ness of Brodgar in 2012, so I am planning a return soon!

[@kuhndog63]

As an old hillbilly from WV I live vicariously through you so thank you and keep up the great work.

[@flyshacker]

Rick, you have the best job in the world! And you are the perfect guy for the job. We ALWAYS enjoy your videos, short or long. Thanks and best wishes.

[@francinebarr1204]

Rick, that’s very interesting 😍

[@davidolien2828]

Thank you. I rely on you in my travels. You are the best!

[@carlaportocarrero1550]

Run Rick, run. 😆 I hate crowds, so. Happy travels.

[@dan.meyers]

cool place!

[@black5f]

Hi. Great video. Pre dates pyramids by 1000 years, much older. It fascinates me, it's a regular village and humans did it. Knap of Howar much older.

[@thelendingdictionary-every3955]

Love your videos! Any tips you could share would help me get going! Love to learn while entertained!

[@CapnBlood]

Very nice! Blown Away by Tour group, lol.

[@dcallan812]

Ironical it looks like a craze golf setup ;-)

[@olhemi1]

😎👍

[@Lsb5231]

Why was it one minute?

[@davidandjendejong3056]

What would fascinate me more is learning about the path humans took before settling into such a region. Keep in mind that at the time of 4000-5000 years ago, the ice cap of the north was also vastly different and so the terrain would have been much harsher. Look beyond the history and face value and try thinking of life in that time with as many variables as possible considered. Keepin on travelin

[@martynnotman3467]

Its a neolithic settlement the ice caps were long gone at the start of the mesolithic.

[@davidandjendejong3056]

Martyn Notman I understand it wasn’t under the ice cap, but I would have to presume that the weather today is warmer and less harsh than it was 5000 years ago. I’d think colder winters, and shorter summers. I’m far from an expert but to assume the weather has changed since then is not far fetched. Either way, it creates a level of interest and reason to spend time doing more research about a place or time. Exactly what I want travel to do for me.

[@martynnotman3467]

@@davidandjendejong3056 its surprisingly warm in that part of the world. They are in the gulf stream. Warmer than you would expect.

[@davidandjendejong3056]

Martyn Notman interesting for sure. I’ve also done some quick research that suggest that Scotland and all of the British Islands were actually connected to mainland Europe and Scandinavia at this time. A site like this quite possibly was never intended as a “waterfront” location. In either case, I guess my point is, that what we see and understand today is probably vastly different than the factors those people faces at that time. I could be mistaken, but I would guess the jet stream of today is not necessarily the jet stream of 5000 years ago. The land between Britain and the mainland was believed to be a dry climate, which runs counter to typical British weather of today.

[@martynnotman3467]

@@davidandjendejong3056 Doggerland is the name for the dry north sea lands. It was also long gone by 3000 bc sadly. There has been major sea level change up there caused by isostatic uplift though so coastlines are somewhat different.

[@electricfilms100]

slower pan or higher frame rate plz :) I'm sure you could go for a higher rez too! Also, if you're using the front facing camera... you're not, right? right?

[@ShifuCareaga]

bear in mind, that's the end of the age; but Orkney goes back longer than that. But no, not before the Great Pyramid. mainstream dating on that is almost assuredly wrong as heck. ALSO: the empire at Skara Brae may have been part of a much larger culture, now subsumed by the sinking of Doggerland, and the rise of sea level.

[@kathyastrom1315]

If you mean that the Orkney dates are wrong, they have been repeatedly verified at multiple sites. There was a significant community on the islands by 3000 BC, producing Grooved Ware pottery that spread to the rest of Britain by the time Stonehenge was constructed a few centuries later. The veracity of the dating of the Pyramids I am less sure of, but they are commonly thought to have been built around 2600 BC, so yes, they do postdate Skara Brae by several hundred years.

[@ShifuCareaga]

The dating of the pyramids is very obviously wrong, but setting that aside, people will have occupied Orkney before that. The civilization of it will be around 3000BC, but people will have been in the area for many thousands before that. So Orkney did not spring up from nowhere, is my point. Dense habitation is what enabled good dating. But the best climate of Orkney was going back closer to the end of Younger Dryas, and got worse as time went on, for one reason or another.