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For thousands of years, our ancestors found solace in the winter solstice. Today, that belief is still reflected in the astonishing sight of the sun setting on Orkney's Maeshowe tomb. Located 10 miles off Scotland's north-eastern coast, the Orkney islands are a treasure trove of history, from the famous Neolithic village Skara Brae to the hauntingly beautiful Ring of Brodgar – a spellbinding stone circle that was a site of ritual and ceremony. However, when I visited another of Orkney's famous prehistoric sites, the Maeshowe tomb, my first impression was of an unremarkable green mound surrounded by a ditch. Despite...

A group of UK islands could become a territory of Norway under dramatic new proposals. Orkney, off the northeast coast of Scotland, has a population of less than 23,000 people spread across its 20 inhabited islands and makes up one of the country's 32 council areas. But next week a motion will go before the council, exploring "alternative forms of governance" including changing the archipelago's status within the UK or becoming a self-governing territory of the Scandinavian nation. "We are looking for the very best position for future generations and our place in the world," council leader James Stockan told...

A Viking sword found at a burial site in Orkney is a rare, exciting and complex artefact, say archaeologists.The find, made in 2015 on the northeast coast of Papa Westray, is being carefully examined as part of post-excavation work.Archaeologists have now identified it as a type of heavy sword associated with the 9th Century.The relic is heavily corroded, but x-rays have revealed the sword's guards to be highly decorated.Contrasting metals are thought to have been used to create a honey comb-like pattern.The remains of a scabbard, a sheath for the blade, was also found...The excavations at Mayback revealed a number...

Archaeologists found the wood while excavating the Ness of Brodgar, home to a vast network of buildings, including a temple-style complex, that thrummed with activity during the Neolithic period.Sigurd Towrie, of the University of Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute, said it was the first time wood had been found on the site... at 'structure 12' on the site, a large rectangular building that is some 17-metres long.The building was divided up inside by pillars to create a series of bays, alcoves and recesses which surrounded two large hearths.Access to this was by three entrances, one that was flanked by a...

A fingerprint left on a clay vessel made by a potter 5,000 years ago has been found in Orkney.The print was discovered on a surviving fragment of the object at the Ness of Brodgar archaeological site.Archaeologists have been excavating at the complex of ancient buildings in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site since 2006.Imaging technology was used to reveal the fingerprint left after the potter pressed a finger into wet clay.Ness of Brodgar is the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) Archaeology Institute's flagship excavation site.The potter's fingerprint was noted by ceramics specialist Roy Towers, who was...

Evidence of woven textile from 5,000 years ago has been found for only the second time in Scotland. The piece of Neolithic fabric has not survived, but archaeologists did find the impression it left on the wet clay of a pot millennia ago. The discovery was made by archaeologists examining markings on pottery from Ness of Brodgar in Orkney. Evidence of Neolithic woven textile in Scotland was first found at Flint Howe, near Stranraer, in 1966. An impression of the fabric had also been spotted on a piece of clay... Organic material from prehistory only survives under certain conditions, and...

Archaeologists are now in a race against time to fully excavate and preserve the site at Newark on Orkney mainland which is being protected in the short term by sandbags. The site is particularly vulnerable to the impact of south easterly winds with the ground, which is formed of soft boulder clay, now prone to landslides as it holds on to high volumes of rainwater... In 2016 a Carved Pictish Type 2 stone was exposed and excavated by ORCA Archaeology. It is believed that the cemetery could hold invaluable information about the little-understood transition between the Pictish era and the...

Crannogs were fortified settlements constructed on artificial islands in lochs. It was thought they were first built in the Iron Age, a period that began around 800 BC. But four Western Isles sites have been radiocarbon dated to about 3640-3360 BC in the Neolithic period - before the erection of Stonehenge's stone circle... Another famous Neolithic site is Skara Brae, a village in Orkney inhabited between 3200 BC and 2200 BC... They said it was possible other Scottish crannogs, and similar sites in Ireland, were also Neolithic. Previously it was thought crannogs were built and re-used over a period of...

Damage to the Ring of Brodgar includes graffiti that has been engraved into one of the stones at the Neolithic site near Stenness. It is believed to have been caused sometime between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. The ring originally comprised 60 stones, of which 36 survive. It is within the Heart of Neolithic Orkney Unesco world heritage site, which also includes a large chambered tomb called Maeshowe, the Stones of Stenness and the Skara Brae settlement. The ring was built around 2,500-2,000BC and covers an area of almost 8,500 sq metres (91,500 sq ft). It is the third largest...

UNSW scientists have shown -- for the first time -- that a series of high-profile burial sites in the Pacific, Mediterranean and northern Scotland were likely related to catastrophic tsunamis... Honorary Professor James Goff from the PANGEA Research Centre at UNSW Sydney, who co-authored the paper, says the research provides new insights into past human-environment interactions and a new perspective on past catastrophic events... The researchers looked at coastal mass burial sites in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu as well as in Orkney and Shetland. The mass graves cover a long timeframe of human history -- they are from about...

A medieval gaming board has been found by archaeologists working to find a lost Pictish-era monastery in Aberdeenshire. Archaeologist Ali Cameron said the board found near Old Deer was a "very rare" find with it used to play the Norse strategy game of Hnefatafl. A date for the board has yet to be established but a similar piece found in Birsay, Orkney, in 1989 was dated to the Late Iron Age/Pictish period from the 5th to 9th Century AD. Ms Cameron said: "It is a very rare object and only a few have been found in Scotland, mainly on monastic...

Archaeologists have identified the site of a huge Iron Age feast on Orkney where more than 10,000 animals were cooked and eaten in a vast cliff top celebration. Tests have shown that horses, cattle, red deer and otters were on the menu at the gathering above Windwick Bay, South Ronaldsay, more than 1,700 years ago... A large number of jewellery fragments and tools have already been discovered at the site, where the remains of an Iron Age broch and metalworking site can be found, with recent radiocarbon tests carried out at a midden -- or rubbish tip -- nearby. Examination...

Celebrated British composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, a former Master of the Queen's Music, has died at the age of 81. He was known for his modern and avant-garde works, but his most famous piece was a simple, haunting lament for solo piano - Farewell To Stromness. "He was, right to the end, a pioneer," Stephen Lumsden, Managing Director of music agency Intermusica, said. The Salford-born musician, who had leukaemia, died at home in Orkney.

Archaeologists in Orkney have uncovered the remains of over 30 buildings dating from around 4000 BC to 1000 BC, together with field systems, middens and cemeteries. The find includes a very rare Bronze Age building which experts believed could have been a sauna or steam house, which may have been built for ritual purposes. EASE Archaeology recently made the exciting discovery on the periphery of the prehistoric Links of Noltland, on the island of Westray in Orkney, next to where the famous ‘Westray Wife’ was found in 2009, which is believed to be the earliest depiction of a human face...

SUNDAY DECEMBER 02 2001 Genetic survey reveals hidden Celts of England JOHN ELLIOTT AND TOM ROBBINS THE Celts of Scotland and Wales are not as unique as some of them like to think. New research has revealed that the majority of Britons living in the south of England share the same DNA as their Celtic counterparts. The findings, based on the DNA analysis of more than 2,000 people, poses the strongest challenge yet to the conventional historical view that the ancient Britons were forced out of most of England by hordes of Anglo-Saxon invaders. It suggests that far from being ...

Maeshowe winter solstice as viewed by Neolithic man CAROLINE WICKHAM-JONESMaeshowe winter solstice as viewed by Neolithic manMaeshowe is managed by Historic Scotland. Picture: Charles Tait Photographic THE GREAT mound of Maeshowe has dominated the skyline of Orkney for almost 5,000 years. It is a spectacular sight and a visit to the chambered tomb provides one of the highlights for visitors to the Orkney islands. Today, as we stoop to enter and walk down the low 11 metre passage to the chamber with its massive stonework, we are reminded of the ingenuity of those original builders. Its apparent uniformity masks a...

The remains of what it is thought could be a member of early Pictish royalty have been discovered during an archaeological dig in Aberdeenshire. The discovery at Rhynie was made by teams from the universities of Aberdeen and Chester. The remains were found in a carefully made sandstone grave, which the experts believe suggests the person was of high status. It is the first time remains of a body have been uncovered at the site. Project leader Dr Gordon Noble, of the University of Aberdeen, said: "We found elements of the legs, pelvis and jaw bone which we recovered and...

Archaeologists have found an astonishing piece of Neolithic artwork that was buried for 4,500 years. The stone creation - which is decorated on both sides and has been described as one of the ‘finest ever’ to be found in Britain - was uncovered last night on the Ness of Brodgar in Orkney, Scotland. It was found at the base of the south-west internal corner of the Neolithic ‘cathedral’ at the site, which covers 2.5 hectares and is believed to have been occupied from as early as 3,500BC....

A third 5,000-year-old hand-carved figurine has been discovered during excavations on Orkney. Archaeologists had previously unearthed two ancient figurines in 2009 and 2010 at the dig at Links of Noltland in Westray. All three will go on display at the Westray Heritage Centre. Alasdair McVicar, chair of the Westray Heritage Trust, said: "The discovery of these figurines has really put Westray and the heritage centre on the map." Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "There was understandable excitement when the first figurine, believed to be the earliest artistic representation of the human form ever found in the UK, was found in...

The site, known as the Ness of Brodgar, was investigated by BBC2 documentary A History of Ancient Britain, with presenter Neil Oliver describing it as 'the discovery of a lifetime'. So far the remains of 14 Stone Age buildings have been excavated, but thermal geophysics technology has revealed that there are 100 altogether, forming a kind of temple precinct. Until now Stonehenge was considered to have been the centre of Neolithic culture, but that title may now go to the Orkney site, which contains Britain's earliest known wall paintings. Oliver said: 'The excavation of a vast network of buildings on...