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Heart of Neolithic Orkney refers to a group of Neolithic monuments found on the Mainland of the 
Ness of Brodgar is an archaeological site between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness that has provided evidence of housing, decorated stone slabs, a massive stone wall with foundations, and a large building described as a Neolithic "cathedral".Towrie, Sigurd (16 August 2007
"Stone wall hints at Neolithic spiritual barrier "
Orkneyjar. Retrieved 10 September 2014.Ross, John and Hartley, David (14 August 2009
" 'Cathedral' as old as Stonehenge unearthed."
Edinburgh. ''The Scotsman''. Retrieved 16 August 2009. Although it is not part of the World Heritage Site, the Ness of Brodgar "contribute greatly to our understanding of the WHS" according to Historic Scotland, which manages most of the site. In 2008, UNESCO expressed concern about plans by the local council to "erect three large 72 metres wind turbines to the north-west of the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brogdar" that might damage the site. In 2019, a risk assessment was performed to assess the site's vulnerability to climate change. The report by Historic Environment Scotland, the Orkney Islands Council and others concludes that the entire World Heritage Site, and in particular Skara Brae, is "extremely vulnerable" to climate change due to rising sea levels, increased rainfall and other factors; it also highlights the risk that Skara Brae could be partially destroyed by one unusually severe storm. The first application of the Climate Vulnerability Index to a Cultural World Heritage property took place at the Heart of Neolithic Orkney in April 2019.
Orkney Islands
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
, Scotland. The name was adopted by UNESCO when it proclaimed these sites as a World Heritage Site in December 1999.
The site of patrimony currently consists of four sites:
# Maes Howe
Maeshowe (or Maes Howe; non, Orkhaugr) is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave situated on Mainland Orkney, Scotland. It was probably built around . In the archaeology of Scotland, it gives its name to the Maeshowe type of chambered c ...
– a unique chambered cairn
A chambered cairn is a burial monument, usually constructed during the Neolithic, consisting of a sizeable (usually stone) chamber around and over which a cairn of stones was constructed. Some chambered cairns are also passage-graves. They are fo ...
and passage grave, aligned so that its central chamber is illuminated on the winter solstice. It was looted by Vikings who left one of the largest collections of runic inscriptions in the world.
# Standing Stones of Stenness
The Standing Stones of Stenness is a Neolithic monument five miles northeast of Stromness on the mainland of Orkney, Scotland. This may be the oldest henge site in the British Isles. Various traditions associated with the stones survived into ...
– the four remaining megaliths of a henge, the largest of which is 6 metres (19 ft) high.
# Ring of Brodgar – a stone circle 104 metres in diameter, originally composed of 60 stones set within a circular ditch up to 3 metres deep and 10 metres wide, forming a henge monument
There are three related types of Neolithic earthwork that are all sometimes loosely called henges. The essential characteristic of all three is that they feature a ring-shaped bank and ditch, with the ditch inside the bank. Because the internal ...
. It has been estimated that the structure took 80,000 man-hours to construct.
# Skara Brae – a cluster of eight houses making up Northern Europe
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...
’s best-preserved Neolithic village.
Ness of Brodgar is an archaeological site between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness that has provided evidence of housing, decorated stone slabs, a massive stone wall with foundations, and a large building described as a Neolithic "cathedral".Towrie, Sigurd (16 August 2007"Stone wall hints at Neolithic spiritual barrier "
Orkneyjar. Retrieved 10 September 2014.Ross, John and Hartley, David (14 August 2009
" 'Cathedral' as old as Stonehenge unearthed."
Edinburgh. ''The Scotsman''. Retrieved 16 August 2009. Although it is not part of the World Heritage Site, the Ness of Brodgar "contribute greatly to our understanding of the WHS" according to Historic Scotland, which manages most of the site. In 2008, UNESCO expressed concern about plans by the local council to "erect three large 72 metres wind turbines to the north-west of the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brogdar" that might damage the site. In 2019, a risk assessment was performed to assess the site's vulnerability to climate change. The report by Historic Environment Scotland, the Orkney Islands Council and others concludes that the entire World Heritage Site, and in particular Skara Brae, is "extremely vulnerable" to climate change due to rising sea levels, increased rainfall and other factors; it also highlights the risk that Skara Brae could be partially destroyed by one unusually severe storm. The first application of the Climate Vulnerability Index to a Cultural World Heritage property took place at the Heart of Neolithic Orkney in April 2019.
See also
*Banknotes of Scotland
Banknotes of Scotland are the banknotes of the pound sterling that are issued by three Scottish retail banks and in circulation in Scotland. The issuing of banknotes by retail banks in Scotland is subject to the Banking Act 2009, which repealed ...
(featured on design)
* Prehistoric Scotland
* Timeline of prehistoric Scotland
* Oldest buildings in Scotland
* Oldest buildings in the world
References and footnotes
;General references * ;Specific references and notes {{World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom 1999 establishments in Scotland World Heritage Sites in Scotland Archaeological sites in Orkney Prehistoric Orkney Scheduled monuments in Scotland Stone Age sites in Scotland Neolithic Scotland Mainland, Orkney