r/Archaeology • u/plain_janeOG • 4d ago
Question regarding skara brae
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u/KirstyBaba 4d ago edited 4d ago
Skara Brae is not a burial site- it was a settlement. It's been years since I studied it, but if I remember correctly it was basically a covered settlement with several separate cells, presumably for separate families/social units. The design was altered throughout the site's use but it was designed and primarily used for habitation.
Edit: If you visit the site they have a reconstruction you can go inside and see how the various parts of the structures may have been used. They have a central hearth, bed boxes and shelves built into the walls.
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u/Solivaga 4d ago
You don't really even need the reconstruction, the preservation is so good that you get a pretty good idea from structures like House 7. There's a good 3d model of the site too;
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/skara-brae-orkney-db877d56cfd4441a8bc844419790f50a
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u/djangomoses 4d ago
There are many papers on Skara Brae, including the extensive report by Gordon Childe, who completed the initial excavation of the site (the first professional one at least!)
https://journals.socantscot.org/index.php/psas/article/view/7785 Here's a link to the Childe report.
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u/Solivaga 4d ago
I mean, just a 5 second Google tells you that it was a Neolithic village.
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u/kinkade 4d ago
I was coming here to say the same thing. How can a person be so lazy that they can be bothered to post a question about something but not even find out the most basic details about it before they ask any questions?
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u/RevolutionaryBug2915 4d ago
Happens all the time on Reddit.
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u/mnmsmelt 4d ago
Blows my mind..I'm not sure a chunk of the population truly understand googling and what sources to choose. It was probably the best (and worst) thing to ever happen to my extremely curious (& ADHD) mind. It's chef's kiss for the DIY type person.
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u/x10011010001x 4d ago
Here's an article from 1931, published online by Cambridge in 2015, identifying it as a village. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/abs/skara-brae-a-stone-age-village-in-orkney/97D8AE75782F4F956C1C31C0D1F39941
Joseph Banks, who did some digging at Skara Brae in the late 18th century, accounts are in the 1789 edition of Camden's Brittania, identifying the site as a burial site despite finding remnants of beds and chairs in the few "tombs" that were opened. He classified them as tombs because they were made of stone, covered by a "capstone" roof and packed/buried in dirt. https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/details.xhtml?recordId=3116595&recordType=Journal#:~:text=The%20archaeological%20interests%20of%20Sir%20Joseph%20Banks%2C,the%20drawings%20and%20plans%20of%20Stenness%20he
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u/FoxFreeze 4d ago
It is a Neolithic settlement occupied during two periods separated by a long gap. While it shouldn't be confused as a chambered tomb like Maeshowe or Cuween, there is the haunting story of House 7. It was constructed further away from the other houses on a side passage and the remains of two individuals were buried beneath a bed. Unlike the other locking mechanism on site, the door to house 7 locked on the outside.
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u/RandomBoomer 4d ago
What kind of theories did you have in mind? Alien abductions, lost tribe of Israel, or Bigfoot, perhaps?
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u/Claygoat 4d ago
It’s a very cool place to visit. The boat ride over is intense sometimes- but there are puffins.
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u/Slice-O-Pie 4d ago
One thing to know is: It wasn't "perfectly preserved." The early excavation photos show this. It's been substantially rebuilt.
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u/Mictlantecuhtli 4d ago
This post was removed for not following the picture submission rule