Skara Brae | Neolithic Origins in Ancient Orkney 3180 BC | Megalithomania

[@clarejohnson8237]

My Mother was Orcadian and I was born there over 70 years ago ,we would play at Skara Brae in the houses they were not like they are now you could run in and out of them , I have two photos of my Mother and her sisters Standing in the houses over 80 years ago , All of Orkney is the most wonderful place we go back most years still have a few lovely cousins there ,My husband and I love it.

[@contractor1535]

Your husband loves your lovely cousins? Well 80 years ago I wonder how's life back then

[@nodigBKMiche]

pls share your pics, I was there & would love to see how it looked when you played in it!❤‍🔥Such an amazing place, so beautiful & bleak at the same time.

[@JulieB12341]

One of my best friends used to live in Orkney so very fortunate to have visited Scara Brae on a few occasions. Makes you wonder what else lurks beneath our feet as this was only discovered when the top of the sand dunes blew off in a terrible storm.

[@bp4682]

I was here just over 10 yrs ago ....fantastic place and a lot to see and take in .

[@xxxxgamerxxxxx1]

loved the video up until the end when it went from factual explanation of historical artifacts to ramblings that connected as many ancient civilizations as possible to Britain! Europeans and the British sure love to connect things back to themselves! I can actually see why Indians don't even want to hear about the Indo-European hypothesis since they think its just another attempt for Europeans to link everything to themselves rather than it being a scientific hypothesis to explain the curious similarities between the cultures, languages, and religions of north and east Europe, India, Greece and various other cultures in between!!!

[@booswalia]

They also went around claiming things as their own and declaring the authority to do so.

[@pinupdoll97]

I tend to agree that when it comes down to it, how people got to where they settled is somewhat immaterial to culture in general. I’ve never understood why each culture can’t just have pride in their traditions and just enjoy learning about others because, when it comes down to it, we are all in the human race together as equals.

[@PeachysMom]

Especially name dropping Gobekli Tepe. That is a STRETCH. And those mummies found in Florida are in no way Caucasian lol. Lots of mummies’ hair is red, it doesn’t mean they had red hair when they were alive. Proteins break down over time, and it’s well known that bog mummies’ hair tends to go red. That was a crazy thing to say since the DNA has been determined to be of Asian/indigenous American descent. What a disappointment after watching a lovely video like this

[@eileenmacdougall8945]

Really interesting video. Thank you.

[@doc2help]

Excellent Piece! The natural layered stone in the area created a resource that, combined with their creativity and architectural needs, permitted the construction of a magnificent and durable site. Thank you!

[@benglassman]

Scotland is AWESOME. Highly recommend a visit.

[@drips1030]

Great video. Can't believe i had never heard of this place until half an hour ago!!!

[@anabelpecoraro3083]

Same and I'm so happy

[@iainholmes2735]

Really interesting vid. It is quite an astonishing place. Cheers.

[@lotusblossom3900]

Outstanding video. Loved the music and the historical talk about the place. Well done! 😊

[@katetorode8411]

Ur awesome thank u so much for a real tour xxxxxxx been wanting to explore the archeology there for years

[@ricktodd3808]

Another great video Hugh Newman, thank-you.

[@MegalithomaniaUK]

Thank you.

[@fearlessjoebanzai]

Glad they were conscious enough to have fire exit signs back in the day.

[@MegalithomaniaUK]

They saw the future!

[@jonathansmith2824]

Orkney means ‘safety first’

[@nrthrngrl1855]

I dream of places like this!

[@slobotaigaz9680]

These look incredibly similar in construction to the stone chambers scattered all over the area of New England USA where I’m at. It’s wild

[@ArthurStone]

Thanks Hugh; much appreciate your outstanding work : D

[@MegalithomaniaUK]

Many thanks. Appreciate your kind words.

[@RedexsAmcc]

I have been shouting about Orkney as one of the first dots to connect for 15 years. Now in 6 months 2 serious looks at it. At last. Keep digging. I have no ego I just want truth for all who seek it. Way more to Orkney than this one village. Bottle neck chambers tuned to create standing waves of dust that shimmer like 7 ghost sentinels on the mid winter sunrises. Acoustic mastery.

[@MegalithomaniaUK]

Agreed, It's a very important place and possibly the origin point of much that ended up at Stonehenge and Avebury etc.

[@frosty6960]

@@MegalithomaniaUK Im fairly convinced Orkney is mentioned in the greek myths and stories

[@RedexsAmcc]

@@MegalithomaniaUK check out the origins of feasting meat associated with the ritual landscape of Wessex. Orkney.

[@ivylearog]

I'm from Orkney and there's one tomb called the Dwarfie Stane that has such a weird echo, each word repeats once immediately as you speak, you almost feel like you're in an altered state if you spend a little bit of time in there, made me wonder if it was designed for sacred rituals and not for a tomb.

[@edwardgrigoryan3982]

What is the style of music played throughout this video? It's mesmerizing. Could anyone point me in the right direction to find more music like this? In particular with the subtle humming in the background.

[@AhJodie]

Thank you!

[@sedette123]

Nice video, Thank`s Hugh Newman. 👍

[@johnjams4]

The ocean would have been miles away when site was in use. Makes sense as people would not build a settlement like this on a coast easily seen by all passing boats. Also small doors help to keep their sheep etc from entering their abodes. Great video thanks!

[@mikesemon7392]

Damn that's old. I sometimes wonder about Doggerland and how fast or slow it fell in the sea and what might be older than this.

[@onelove5464]

Wow, never seen this place! How freakin’ badass! I swear ancient times are magical to me...they just had so much incredible construction and living spaces done in such beautiful landscapes. I wonder why there is just one small place out there alone? Must have been off-gridders lol 😆

[@MegalithomaniaUK]

There are a few similar examples but this is the best preserved.

[@daveybeuy]

I've been on the actual site it is mystical

[@ANIMIST-4-GOD]

Probably hundreds of people if not more packed in their ( think tribal )

[@98Zai]

There is a huge ceremonial place not far away. They assume the people who lived there were something like priests, who stayed close all year around while others came for big religious festivals.

[@jennybegs]

we went last year my husband has family that live 10 mins from here. There are so many amazing things on the islands from Neolithic, Viking and world war history. We visited skara brae, rings of brodgar, scrapa flow/Churchill barriers/Italian chapel we wanted to do maes howe but never got the time. orkney is magical my 6 year old has never stopped taking about that holiday. Also if planning on going to during shopping week in stromness. the museum in kirkwall was great aswell.

[@quadq6598]

Great place, been many times, gets very windy.

[@Marie-or6hz]

Hopefully, he will host another trip next year. I will be going to that one, if he hosts it.

[@frosty6960]

Interesting fact to consider: The Orkneys were ice free before britain, due to the warming of the sea currents. Also , it was on a height ... about 13 km for the shore at about 10 000 BC Then its a slow sea rise and pretty stable conditions for 4000 years. Then another sharper sea rise happens and within 1000 years the rest of doggerland(except an island) and the english channel is formed. Yep, its that new and fresh. After 5000 BC, there is no more big changes to the earthly sea level or climate. From here we see the re-rise of most civilizations.

[@frosty6960]

By 3500 BC .. the ocean is reaching all the way to Finland in the Baltic sea.

[@Twitch24]

I was hearing that the silt which sits up on and makes up the land, could have been a tsunami flow because of the fauna found within it

[@chloeriley3745]

I'm learning about skara brae at school

[@GreatCityAttractions]

Another interesting sight in the UK. well done.

[@grahamfleming8139]

Had a weeks holiday on Orkney on my own, but was never on my own,it was one of the best holidays ever, skara( never seen any daleks) brodgar,stennes ,tomb of the eagles, Mae's Howe, a different world from mainland Scotland You brought back many happy memories with this video Hugh, P.s the DNA of the paracus long headed Skulls ( the ones with red) hair). The have sampled the DNA back to scythia, that is where the Scots are supposed to originate from Through Egypt, Spain, Ireland, then to Orkney? Reed heid s common in Ireland, here ,in the Chinese pyramids, new Zealand The neolithic people maybe red hair was common?

[@nicktruscott3766]

fantastic. I went there 30 years ago and you could walk around in all the "houses" . No barriers or tourist paths, i remember crouching down to almost crawling to get through the doors.

[@Twitch24]

Just 1 point: the shoreline would have been much further away then and they reckon a lot of it has been swept away over 1000s years and now the water is closer to what we see now. I wonder if the hole in the stone there is from a post hole support like used with thin the rooms to close the doors from within and jts been reused.

[@Beanboiwolf]

I was thinking this aswell yeah

[@nagsdeadfilms7024]

I didnt know there was a real Skara Brae. I thought it only existed in the Ultima games. Lol this is awesome and beautiful

[@rachelhenderson2688]

Skara Brae is the Real Thing; it's not part of some childish online game!

[@gitmoholliday5764]

Maybe some of these locations were "schools" centres to learn local apprentices, techniques like stone-working and pottery etc.

[@malkie638]

Perhaps the stone balls and platonic solids were apprentice tests, and the most intricate became like a curriculum vitae for master masons and ancient architects

[@MegalithomaniaUK]

One theory is that The Ness of Brodgar was an ancient University

[@gitmoholliday5764]

@@malkie638 exactly.. most cultures even the present will need "market" places where you can buy materials but also share knowledge, that way you build and maintain your culture and find talented individuals.

[@gitmoholliday5764]

@@MegalithomaniaUK I did see that stone "axe" with even the leather straps cut out of stone and that short handle that must have been a totally useless axe, but beautiful and it shows knowledge how to make the real thing Imagine small family based farming.. how would they even learn how to bake pottery / play music or make clothes, to spread and controll your culture there must be some uniformity.. and that would be best to obtain through centralized education.

[@Carolevw]

Can you tell us anything about the sea wall, Howard? It's highly likely the shoreline has changed, but the flat stones are laid out same as other ancient places but it may still just be making use of the stones in the area, possibly.

[@Twitch24]

I was told that the big sea wall you see here by the shoreside, is a semi modern build to protect Skara Brae from weather erosion

[@robertpeace4596]

These sites look like ancient Anderson shelters! Like those issued to the public during WW2. Cover them over with soil and you have a very good shelter, perhaps against an ancient aerial war, of global proportions.

[@mikesemon7392]

When I was in Germany alot of cities had "half timber" houses. I wonder if these were like that. Wood or thatch and Earth roofs. Even imagine if Stonehenge was more elaborate or had a roof. 5000 years of tomb raiders, grave robbers, pillagers and nature. I'm sure nothing expensive or organic would be left.

[@faramund9865]

It’s an interesting thought HOWEVER half timbered houses are from the middle ages, that’s MUCH later. On top Skara Brae sits in the ground which would mean the wood would get very wet still and would rot quickly, contrary to half timbered ones, where the stone sits above the ground so that the wood is up in the air and rots much less quickly.

[@faramund9865]

Furthermore I’m pretty sure Skara Brae is situated at a place with very few to no trees.

[@rachelhenderson2688]

No, they were nothing like 'half-timbered houses'. The houses at Skara Brae are MUCH older

[@mariecarr9085]

So beautiful. The carvings look more look they could be their writing to me maybe says certain things or spiritual meaning

[@malkie638]

If you are interested in this I can recommend a book called Uriels Machine

[@MegalithomaniaUK]

Fantastic book. I've read it three times!

[@AhJodie]

Thank you

[@malkie638]

hope you get the book - perhaps on Amazon - it Very good

[@malkie638]

Awesome

[@ashleyanya1066]

The replica carvings do not look like the photo of the original, which look like a repeating geometric pattern. In the replica house they look like words written in rune script or something...

[@mariposaswallowtail4410]

I toured skara Brae in 1994. Local tour guide mentioned that at time they built the climate (according to fossil record) was tropical due to gulf of Mexico

[@Twitch24]

Interesting

[@fearlessjoebanzai]

Interesting to hear about Stone balls in Bridlington (I live near by), do you have any further information on them?

[@MegalithomaniaUK]

I have never seen a photo of it but one was discovered in the area.

[@nodigBKMiche]

I am assuming the stone walls facing the beach were built recently to prevent erosion? Or are they part of the site? The "carvings" look like Runes? Great show 😄

[@Twitch24]

Yes

[@LighteningBall7]

Wowwwwwww

[@Twitch24]

I do sometimes wonder if the carvings were them sharpening tools and these were the lines left

[@lucymonie]

what is the music called??????!!!!!!!!! i like it

[@brutus4013]

I’m wondering why they haven’t enclosed the whole site under cover for protection from the elements ?

[@lillyfraser6587]

At 7:00 Are those runes?

[@mikelisacarb]

Speaks almost in a whisper, as if he is letting us in on a deep dark secret! I wonder if you have to constantly whisper on the tour bus when you travel with this guy. Also, it would be way cool if they have real live music on the bus too. After all, the flautist would only have to learn one phrase, which would be incessantly repeated to add atmosphere. I joke, but it looks like such an amazing place! I'd truly love to see it.

[@hardwankinman558]

5:20 hopi sipapu! they didnt need beds to be comfy they just clicked on it and then suddenly it was morning, or retrofitted as tomb later and the 'letters' are the name of the dead? 14:30 couldn't be St Brandanus' era?

[@syntheticsoundtracks]

Its the period of history I wish I was around in.

[@Beanboiwolf]

Id love the thought of neolithic scots traveling round the world like the polynesians my only question is though how did they do it? Like what sort of boats did they have? Could it have crossed the atlantic? Even though the evidence you have put forward which i will research myself would suggest something similar but do we have the proof they had the boat technology and the provissions and skills necessary to take on the atlantic?

[@donnablack6280]

What do you think of Tom Rowsell's pronouncement that Skara Brae is NOT a religious centre?

[@jaduvalify]

I wonder why nobody mentions looking for connections between Denmark and the Orkney Islands. Didn't Orkney belong to Denmark at one time? The water levels were so much lower when these ruins were occupied. There could easily be archaeological remains on the surrounding beaches and below the current water level. The geography and the boundaries between countries were very different in ancient times. Because roads were so difficult to build and maintain, water was the quickest means of transport. People were very connected throughout the world thousands of years ago via the seas and rivers. It is certain that even 1000 years ago, beads made in the middle east and Egypt were found in Sweden. The same waterways and trade routes existed thousands of years ago that existed in the past 1000 years. Why would anyone think people could not navigate the seas all over the planet until modern man decided it could be so?! It looks like the walls would have been plastered over to prevent insects, wind and water from entering the buildings. To survive such extreme weather conditions, people would have had to have been very intelligent and skilled to survive and trade. I do not believe these ruins would have looked as primitive back when people lived in them. The buildings we live in today would not survive thousands of years like these buildings have. There could even be buildings below these buildings that we see in this video. It is very common to find more buildings below ruins. The Ness of Brodgar is a good example of this occurring in the Orkney Islands.

[@robokill387]

>Didn't Orkney belong to Denmark at one time? yes, but that was literally thousands of years after this site was built.

[@lillyfraser6587]

Have you come across any temple?

[@gopro_audio]

same building tech like in S. Africa

[@nicolecatlin1942]

I wonder if those spheres they made were for a game that they would play together?

[@Trev612]

I wonder if they had a sheepskin hammock stretched out above the bed and use the underneath parts for more storage

[@shaunminahan5279]

He talks about the lovely beach and coastline. I'm pretty sure the coast would have been a long way to travel in 3180 BC.

[@AustinKoleCarlisle]

not much really. most of the sea rose around 10,000 years ago when the ice age ended.

[@rachelhenderson2688]

No, I think you are wrong about that!

[@modigbeowulf5482]

1850 ... interesting year.

[@RoxanneM-]

How tall were those women’s skeletons? Anything interesting about them?

[@jacobitewiseman3696]

Did J.R.R.Tolkien visit skara brae.

[@katesisco]

This fascination we see with spheres and bowls and other mathematical forms may mean our ancient us had an enhanced mathematical capacity? Also evident in ancient Irish passage tombs as written about by J Swaggert.

[@MolecularMindz]

The precession of the equinox is hard baked into many many old myths and stories. 1. to understand the precession we would need long term observation of the stars. 2. it is baked into many manny societies around the world. From egypt to india to south america. And we are seeing hints of stuff at Gobekli tepe. Graham Hancock whether you agree with every thing he says or not writes in DEPTH about this stuff in his 1994 book (Fingerprints of the Gods) And his 2015 book (Magicians of the Gods) I listened to both on audio book because its a easier format for my disabilities. But the paper back versions from what Graham has told me him self in correspondence over the internet (facebook) Has many many wonderful illustrations. So audible for those who don't like to read and his books are masterfully narrated. Myself and Graham Hancock are in no means connected professionally or otherwise on any other level. I sent him a question he replied thats all! His earlier work is picked up in his later work. To tell you a tiny bit of what you can expect Graham in 1994 said civilization was wiped out nearly 12600 yrs ago. But he did not have the science to back it up and it has been called pseudo science im not debating either side. Then in hos 2015 book the science and discoveries have given him the ability to do the Happy dance around his detractores. Enjoy

[@keithbill310]

When it was built it was not on the coast . it was at least half a mile inland ... Over the last 6000 years the sea has changed the coastline...

[@bobmonkfish2427]

I'll go for ancient tellytubbies

[@cjd1383]

Herth or harth?

[@RedexsAmcc]

Shard or sherd, potato bla bla. Accents alter vowels. All the fantastic information in this cast and all you can do is criticize the pronunciation of what is a dresser not a harth or hearth. That is the pit in the centre of the floor.

[@mrminiuminiu]

It was not built next to the beach. It was built inland & the sea has eroded the coast.

[@gtaveditorvids6776]

The beach was not as close to the place 5000 years ago man , it was at least 5 miles away ...

[@maryharvey6909]

It would be interesting to see if people that have lived there for generations have related DNA to those two female skeletons

[@chrishoo2]

Hearth pronounced “harth” not “herth” please.

[@stephaniericketts1473]

Just curious, is it the same pronunciation in both British and American dialects? Never was sure about the correct pronunciation of this word.

[@FatimaFatimaTariq-y9t]

I'm leaning in school about this noelithic means nwe stone should I tel you a fact one house hat over 1000 baeds acholijists belive they used bands for jowlwry

[@keithbill310]

The roof was probably made from conicle stones in some chambers and the other roof could have been made from Earth .. ??

[@user-kq5qp6dh8l]

Would they have paid council tax

[@Sk8Bettty]

At least my kitchen sink isn’t sunk. Is that why we call them sinks?

[@ЈајаХлат]

Ancient Serbs (Sarbs,sorabs,ras,tirasians,rusi,rasceni,)

[@thesparewheel]

An amazing place built in 1832 by welsh settlers who stayed here while they mined bronze ore from the caves near to the site. The name "Skara" comes from the sea food soup they would eat every morning.

[@robokill387]

false, the name comes from the hill that they were buried under, skerrabra. Also, I'm pretty sure the "Welsh settlers" would show up in the historical record if they were, considering there were already literate people living there.

[@faramund9865]

I like your vids because I get to see the structures... But honestly you’re stretching your theories too far on this one. You do know that perhaps these days Egypt isn’t that far away but back then it was like another freaking planet in our solar system. Also not every stone age site has to have some ‘cosmological’ meaning.

[@mompere]

why should they shit in holes in their houses and have to dig and carry it to outside when they had pottery?

[@jacobitewiseman3696]

your telling me that there really were dwarfs/gnomes/hobbits. really they were just unusual humans

[@gaslitworldf.melissab2897]

Australian Aborigines sometimes have reddish hair. So, unless there is more to suggest race, they should be careful. Everyone wants their ancestors to be the first colonizers everywhere, so they don't look like a tyrannical race dominant and exploitive of weaker peoples. Doesn't matter, all peoples initiate some violence in the name of conquest. No need to purify behaviors of the past. What's done is done.

[@eithnemelee2997]

There’s no peer-reviewed evidence whatsoever to suggest that Neolithic Orkney had any contact or cultural exchange with Egypt or the Americas. I respect your fascination with this site and your inquisitiveness but you are misrepresenting the actual history here in a way that is antithetical to true scholarship.

[@braekvitravn7511]

Is it a thing to name children after places like this? my name is Brae, I also know that Brae means hillside or riverbank

[@damiencharlesfelixganesh9526]

I came in at 666 likes and 111 comments.... sorry to ruin this balance of power... 😄

[@macbirt56]

Ummm, I heard him say that he "imagined" that the roof was wood but it is well known that there was no wood on Orkney Island. Trees can't grow there because of the severe weather. Sounds like he could use a little more studying before he offers tours. I'll pass.

[@robokill387]

they almost certainly were in contact with the mainland.

[@mariposaswallowtail4410]

Also according to fossil record the climate was tropical at the time built. Some say this area Atlantis

[@defunct5728]

The weather was not severe there back then, it was warmer and less windy. It definitely wasn't tropical though. In the mesolithic orkney was heavily forested and there would have been trees for some time into the neolithic. There also would have been a lot of driftwood.

[@shellc6743]

Lots of guess work on this video ...

[@shellc6743]

especially towards the end.

[@JamieBainbridge]

Giant skeletons and out of place artifacts not supported by consensus expert opinion. You're the kind of person who has ruined the History Channel. Have a 👎

[@mariposaswallowtail4410]

Seriously why talk about anything but skara Brae...it's enough why bring up every other culture?

[@TheSuperDerp]

It's really sad how Europeans are so obsessed with these stacks of stones when real civilizations were already building pyramids and cities with running water and advanced medical technology that still hasn't been matched today.

[@robokill387]

false, this predates the pyramids by a thousand years. Also modern medical technology is the most advanced it's ever been.

[@eithnemelee2997]

what on earth is a pyramid if not also a stack of stones, mate?

[@TheSuperDerp]

@@eithnemelee2997 The cellular focus of astroquantum energy directed to our atmosphere by the tesla beam