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Location:
Mainland Orkneys, Scotland. |
Grid Reference:
59° 00' N. 3° 00' W. |
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The Orkneys complex has been seen
for a long time as a separate cluster of megaliths. However, it is now
realised that several of the megalithic sites are connected, forming a prehistoric ceremonial
landscape.
The stark landscape of the Islands also offers a unique backdrop for these
beautifully constructed sites, against which they take on an ethereal
quality, as the builders must have been aware.
(Scroll down for more)
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The Orkneys Complex:
There are several
prominent megalithic sites on the Orkney Islands. The availability of
such good quality local stone gave these megaliths a unique quality which still remains today.
Until now there has been little solid evidence for dating the sites.
This year (2008), Renfew's 1973 trenches were re-opened at Brodgar, and
a series of samples have been sent for radio-carbon dating (4). We await
the results.
Who were the builders
of the Orkneys megaliths?
It is suggested that
because the the two stone circles have henges that were dug from the
living rock, that the builders may have introduced this technique from
elsewhere, such as England where vast henges were dug, but usually into
soil.
There are several
features of the primary Orkneys megaliths which have similarities to
other Megalithic structures from further south in Europe (i.e. Ireland,
England, France), with all have similarly orientated passage-mounds,
Henges, Stone-circles suggestive of astronomical observation. Also the
structures themselves show strong cultural similarities through Art,
Technique and design. At present, these people are commonly referred to
as the 'Beaker-people', or 'Boat people'f rom the Neolithic period. Time
will tell.
(Click here for more on this subject).
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Maes Howe:
Although Maes Howe has not been dated directly,
the association with the stone circle at
Stennes
nearby, and with the well known settlement site of
Skara Brae
on the west coast makes it probable that it was erected around 3,000 BC.
Maes Howe was carefully constructed to allow the winter solstice sunlight
to enter the passage, entering the inner chamber for several minutes only
each year. The sun is said to shine in the chamber for a few minutes before
it passes behind the Hill of Howe (Left), then to re-appear for another few
minutes before setting between the two hills.
Meas Howe should not be viewed as an independent
structure. It was an integral part of the prehistoric landscape, as
the photo above illustrates. The whole area can be seen as an outdoor
ceremonial arena, with the ever-present Hills of Hoy in the background
receiving the midwinter sun and marking the new year. Archaeologists
are currently investigating the causeway that links
Stennes to
Brodgar, where several large stones
suggest a ceremonial route between the two sites.
(More about Maes
Howe)
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Stones of Stennes
View from Stennes across the artificial causeway
(connecting sites).
Although it is
difficult to see.. both the Watch-stone and the Ring of Brodgar
are visible in this photo.
(Watch-stone
between centre and right stones, Brodgar left of left-hand stone)
There were once
two 'watch-stones' at the entrance to the causeway and
archaeologists are currently in the process of uncovering several
other large stones across the causeway, believed to have once been
a ceremonial passage between the two sites.
(More about the Stones of Stennes) |
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Brodgar- Hills of Hoy.
The Hills of Hoy from as seen from Ring of
Brodgar.
The natural landscape and the megaliths join
together, connecting the builders with the universe. The sun sets between
the two Hills of Hoy on the winter solstice.
From the centre of the circle, it can be seen how a mound was deliberately
built at the same place the sun set behinds the left-hand Hill of Hoy on the
winter solstice. This attempt to replicate the horizon can be seen in several other megalithic sites
in Scotland where it is also generally associated with astronomical observation.
note to self
(More about the Ring
of Brodgar)
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Archaeo-astronomy: The entrance
to the Maes-Howe passage-mound is orientated towards the setting winter
solstice sun behind the prominent Hills of Hoy in the distance. The
chamber was placed so that for several days before and after the winter
solstice, the sunlight flashes directly into the passage not once, but
twice, with a break of several minutes between each illumination.
The passage is aligned facing
Southwest, facing Ward Hill. For 20 days before the solstice and for 20 days
after the solstice, the sun shines into the chamber twice a day. Every 8
years Venus causes a double flash of light to enter the chamber. This last
happened in 1996 and will happen again in 2004. “At around 2.35 p.m. on the
winter solstice, the sun shines on the back of the chamber for 17 minutes,
and then sets at 3.20 p.m. At 5.00 p.m. the light of Venus enters the first
slot, lighting the chamber, and then at 5.15 p.m. it sets behind Ward Hill.
But 15 minutes after its first setting, Venus reappears beyond Ward Hill,
and the light enters the chamber for a further two minutes, before setting
for a second and last time”. (16).
The
passage faces south-west, towards the position of the setting sun between
the hills of Hoy (see above), so that the beam of sunlight strikes the back wall of the chamber.
Just inside the entrance to the
passage on the left side there is a recess built into the passage wall. This
recess holds a large stone, which was found in the passage during the
excavations of 1861. This stone may have been used by the builders of
Maes Howe to block the front of the passage. The recess suggests that the
blocking and unblocking of the mound could be carried out at will. The stone
fits the width of the passage exactly, but leaves a strip above open to a
height of 50cm. This feature is very reminiscent of the roof-box above the
passage in the Neolithic mound of
Newgrange
in Co. Meath, which allows the light
into the chamber at sunrise on midwinter's day.
(Return
to Top) |
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Geometry of the Orkneys Megaliths.
A series of measurements and
alignments have been taken to connect the Maes Howe Tumulus with the
Ring of Brodgar.
In a direction 60° south from
the centre of the Ring of Brodgar at a distance of 63 chains is the
'Watchstone' (18ft high), 42 to 43 chains further on in the same line
is the 'Barnstone', (15 ft high). At a distance of 42 or 43 chains to
the north-east of the Barnstone is the tumulus of Maes Howe.
The Ring of Brodgar is a
stone-circle which originally consisted of 60 equally spaced
megaliths. The Stones of Stennes was originally a stone-circle
consisting of 12 equally spaced stones.
The numbers of stones used
for the circles is suggestive of base-6 mathematics.
Burl makes note of the 'mistaken
coincidence' about the number of stones in the British stone-circles. He
says of it:
'From Brodgar,
where there was once 60 stones, to the Stripple stones with a probable
thirty, the builders may have counted in multiples of six. Stennes had
twelve. The inner and outer rings at Balfarg have been computed at
twenty-four and twelve respectively. Twenty-four has been suggested for
Cairnpappel, thirty-six for
Arbor Low, and the same number for the devils
quoits'. (3)
Thom radically suggested that geometry was used in the
design of certain prehistoric
sites. He surveyed hundreds of European megaliths and concluded that
fundamental mathematic principles, based upon a common unit of measurement
(which he called the
megalithic yard),
had been applied in the
design of certain sites. As the megalithic tradition in Europe can be traced
back to at least 4,000 BC, if not earlier still, his work is still not
accepted by most archaeologists, although such a strong presence of
geometry should not be ignored, as is clearly suggests that the design of
many sacred sites seems to have been based on a sophisticated
philosophy of sacred science such as was taught centuries later by the
Pythagorean school.
As
Professor Thom observes in his book Megalithic Sites in Britain
(1967):
“It
is remarkable that one thousand years before the earliest mathematicians
of classical Greece, people in these islands not only had a practical
knowledge of geometry and were capable of setting out elaborate
geometrical designs but could also set out ellipses based on the
Pythagorean triangles.”
(More about prehistoric geometry)
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The Scottish/French/Irish connection.
There are several noticeable
similarities between the megalithic structures of Ireland and those from
both France and Scotland. Similar construction features, carvings,
and orientation of passages makes it difficult to ignore the idea that
they might have been built by the same extended cultural group.
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Both
Gavr'inis in France and
Maes-Howe
on the Orkneys were built at the same
time as Newgrange (dated at 3,300 BC).
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Newgrange,
Gavr'inis and
Maes-Howe all had their passages aligned
to the winter solstice. (Close to the Moons eastern major standstill).
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The interior floor-level of
Gavr'inis and
Newgrange were raised
towards the centres. At Newgrange, the upwards-sloping passage narrows
the beam of light into a thin strip. In fact, the only light that would
have originally been able to enter the internal chambers would have come
through the 'light-box', above the passage entrance.
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Light-boxes are a megalithic construction feature
that have so far only been recorded at three (possibly four) sites
in the UK, with two in Ireland (Newgrange and
Carrowkeel
- see below)
both having the same design, and the other two on the
Orkneys in Scotland.
This particular connection is very specific.
There are examples of 'spiral-art' at the Boyne-valley which
are identical to that found at both Gavr'inis and the Orkneys.
Stone SE4 at Knowth has a series of
crescents running down the side, a design similar to that found on the
rear stone inside Le Table des
Marchands' passage mound, (nearby and contemporary with
Gavr'inis).
A further connection between the two cultures
came from Hencken's excavations of 1935, when a chalk ball was
discovered at
Creevykeel, which is an item
similar to those found in Brittany and on the
Orkneys.
The lintel stone over the light-box at
Newgrange (see below), has a series of crosses engraved on it and there is a similar
stone on the floor of the Gavr'inis passage mound, and
others at
Fourknocks in Ireland.
The Irish Recumbent Stone Circles (RSC's) have
been mentioned above. The only other place these particular
constructions are found is in Scotland.
(The Westray Stone:
Symbolic Art. Scottish-Irish Connections).
(Other Scottish Sites)
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