As Mary Said, 'A Magical Day!'

Orkney is ancient. Many of the sites are 5,000 years old, just amazing! Mary and I met our goal of visiting four of them ferrying over to Orkney and back again, from Scrabster--great name, don't you think? 

 First was Maes Howe, a chambered passage tomb, although not much is really known about it because it was excavated by an anitquerian like Schliemann rather than a modern archaeologist, so the place was simply shoveled out, and the few surviving artifacts were left on a train and never recovered. Vikings seeking shelter from a storm broke in through the ceiling in the 12th century and left runic graffiti all over the place including a small dragon. On the Winter Solstice, sunlight shines through the long passageway to the wall beyond, quite spectacular, and live video can be watched online at www.maeshow.com. No photos were allowed within the chamber so you'll have to look the dragon up online, but here is Maes Howe and a glimpse of pastoral Orkney:

Standing stones abound on the islands, Stenness is my favorite though only about 6 stones remain. Remember I told you I would have to share my visit and here you can see the pesky tourists:

The stones are quite tall, with striking, angular shapes; as I said, my favorites.

The Ring of Brodgar a mile or so away originally had sixty or more stones, now there are thirty some. Some resemble those at Stenness, others are more organic in shape because they were quarried in different locations on the islands. All are beautifully covered with lichen, which I hope to reproduce with surface design techniques onto fabric.

Finally Skara Brae, s neolithic village established well before the pyramids! Built beside the sea, ultimately abandoned and buried in sand, the dwellings were exposed by a terrible storm c.1850. Cut into the earth, there are passageways linking them to each other though originally the walls were significantly higher and covered with a roof of wood, and earth. Each of the dwellings has furniture made of stone: enclosures for beds to be filled with plant material to be soft and most likely animal skins for blankets. Also a dresser of shelves to display precious objects or foodstuffs. 

Tomorrow a later start with no ferry to catch then Grey Cairns of Camster and Hill o' Many Stanes, 'Stanes' being an example of the Great Vowel Shift! Cool, huh?