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Thursday, August 15, 2019

Orkney Islands, Scotland

Our first stop on the cruise was the Orkney Islands
off the coast of Scotland.
I'd never heard of them before, and the weather was typically Scottish,
wet and cool, but we were anxious to see the islands.

We visited a historic site called Skara Brae which was uncovered in a severe storm in 1850.
The top of the dune blew away revealing village over 5000 years old.


  Skara Brae, the ancient village of stacked rock dwellings,
was concealed and protected by the sheltering earth,
stabilizing the walls and filling them in to preserve the furnishings inside.


The ancient people made furniture from the rocks 
using them to create storage, sleeping and toileting areas.

Nearby is the Ring of Brodgar,
an ancient stone circle with a large moat-like ditch surrounding it.
It is thought to be a ceremonial site about 4000 years old.
It is similar and possibly related to the more well known Stonehenge.
I wish we could have seen more of the islands, but we were only there for a day.


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