Ring of Brodgar

Today, there's only 21 inhabited.

The types of ancient structures that we have, we have some huge stone circles, the Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar.

These are called henge monuments, like Stonehenge, but they predate Stonehenge by at least 1,000 years.

We also have Skara Brae, which is an incredible Neolithic, uh, village, one of the best, uh, preserved villages in northwest Europe.

And it takes in Maze Howe, which is a burial tomb with a passage and a chamber in it.

And it takes in the Ring of Brodgar, the Stones of Stennis.

And there's no doubt that there was rich contact between the people who were building and using Orkney and those who came after them, who built Avebury and Stonehenge and the rest.

You know, Avebury and Stonehenge are significantly younger than the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stennis.

By centuries.

And there are various hints in the way that places like Avebury and others were put together in Stonehenge that the builders there were mindful of the design of Nessa Brodgar.

and the way in which the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stennis were linked by that narrow isthmus of land.

So there's this narrow finger of land up on Orkney that takes you from the Ring of Brodgar through the Ness of Brodgar out to the Stones of Stennis And then you're back on a wider terrain, away from the lochs, and there's Maes Howe, which is this burial tomb.

Pottery shards imported from western Britain and even a stone tool with quartz nodules traceable to the Scottish mainland reveal that Neolithic Orkney engaged in long-distance exchange networks.

The alignment of Skara Brae's central passageways with nearby monumental sites like Brodgar or Stenness might hint at coordinated ritual activities spanning several miles, suggesting a shared cultural calendar among the island's settlements.

Additionally, the discovery of an obsidian blade, a material not native to Orkney, supports the theory that trading routes stretched all the way back into Ireland's glacial valleys or even continental Europe across Doggerland before its disappearance.

These connections imply that even a seemingly isolated Neolithic village could partake in a wider web of social interaction.

It's called the Ness of Brodgar, an isthmus nestled between the Loch of Stenness and the Loch of Hare.

And on it, the Ring of Brodgar, a huge Neolithic stone circle surrounded by a henge.

Or is it? The circle stretches 104 meters in diameter and is actually the fourth largest stone circle in the British Isles.

Who is in first place, you may ask? Our good friend Avery.

The Ring of Brodgar originally comprised of 60 stones, though today only 27 remain.

And that henge? Well, notice that there's no bank, only a ditch, so it's another atypical one for you.

Of course, the stones and henge are incredible alone, especially since they're in near-perfect circles.