Knowra Orkney Orkney Orkney is an archipelago off Scotland’s northeastern coast, separated from the mainland by the Pentland Firth. Its islands are known for Neolithic sites, Norse heritage, and maritime landscapes.
Skara Brae : A remarkably preserved Neolithic village on Orkney’s Mainland, occupied around five thousand years ago. Its stone houses make Orkney’s prehistoric settlement tangible.
Pictish people : A group of peoples in northern Britain during the Late Iron Age and early medieval period. Pictish communities inhabited Orkney before Norse settlement.
Pentland Firth : A strait separating Orkney from mainland Scotland, known for strong tidal currents. It forms Orkney’s principal sea passage to the Scottish mainland.
Royal Navy : The naval warfare service of the United Kingdom. The Navy used Scapa Flow as a major fleet base in both world wars.
Ring of Brodgar : A Neolithic stone circle on Orkney’s Mainland, part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site. This ceremonial monument anchors Orkney’s most famous prehistoric landscape.
Norsemen : Seafaring peoples from Scandinavia who expanded across northern Europe during the Viking Age. Norse settlers transformed Orkney’s language, politics, and culture.
North Sea : A shallow sea between Great Britain, Scandinavia, continental Europe, and the northern Atlantic. Orkney sits at the North Sea’s northern edge and its maritime crossroads.
Battle of Jutland : A 1916 naval battle between British and German fleets during the First World War. The British fleet returned to Scapa Flow after this North Sea battle.
Maeshowe : A Neolithic chambered tomb on Orkney’s Mainland, later inscribed with Viking runes. Its successive Neolithic and Norse histories meet in one monument.
Norn language : A North Germanic language once spoken in Shetland and Orkney, descended from Old Norse. Norn preserves evidence of Orkney’s long Scandinavian linguistic inheritance.
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