Maeshowe
The Heart of Neolithic Orkney refers to a group of Neolithic monuments found on the Mainland, one of the islands of Orkney. The name was adopted by UNESCO when it inscribed the sites as a World Heritage Site in 1999.
The site is composed of a number of monuments: the chambered tomb of Maeshowe, aligned so that its central chamber is illuminated on the winter solstice; the Standing Stones of Stenness, the four remaining megaliths of a henge; the Ring of Brodgar, a stone circle 104 metres in diameter, originally composed of 60 stones set within a circular ditch and Skara Brae, a group of ten houses which make up Northern Europe’s best preserved Neolithic village.
The Heart of Neolithic Orkney is among the most important Neolithic sites in Western Europe. The site provides exceptional evidence of the beliefs and social structures of this period of history.
Skara brae Neolithic village
