The
houses had locking doors, a system of drain- age and elemental
plumbing with slots in the walls. The interiors were copious
thanks to the ten feet high walls and 430 sq ft layout. The floors
were paved, and each house has built-in stone beds, dressers,
storage alcoves and water tanks. The boxes were formed from thin
slabs with joints carefully sealed with clay to render them water-
proof. Covered passageways ran between the houses and led to a
paved common area. The residents had jewelry and pottery. They
grew wheat and barley, and enjoyed shellfish and fish. They kept
cattle, sheep, pigs, and dogs. They lacked wood, but they managed
with seaweed and some driftwood. A number of carved stones with
spiral ornamentation have been found at the site. Other artefacts
excavated on site made of animal, fish, bird, and whalebone, whale
and walrus ivory, and killer whale teeth included awls, needles,
knives, beads, adzes, shovels, small bowls and, most remarkably,
ivory pins up to 10 inches. Also a twisted skein of heather, one
of a very few known examples of Neolithic rope, and a wooden
handle. Nodules of haematite with highly polished surfaces were
probably used to finish leather. |

We
don’t know anything at all about these people - where they came
from and why they quite suddenly vanished. But at the remains of
Skara Brae we see that they enjoyed over six hundred years of
sophisticated domesticity. |