
Skara Brae – Discovery and Excavation of Orkney's finest Neolithic Settlement - DoreenMichele
http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/skarabrae/
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ChuckMcM
I spent a lot of time in the guild hall there recruiting members to my party
between trips to the dungeon[1] :-).

Definitely on a list of interesting places to visit, and it amazes me that
places like this were occupied for 600 years and then abandoned long before
what I think of as ancient times. How did folks develop the techniques for
building these sorts of structures? Some sort of stone age think tank? It is
really amazing when you think about it.

[1] This was the city in The Bards Tale which I played all the way to the end,
back in the day.

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ajlburke
Skara Brae also features in some of the Ultima games. Supposedly both
companies hired the same consultant who provided some of the same naming ideas
to both customers - oops!

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NamTaf
Yup, my long history of playing Ultima and in particular UO was what made me
go 'oh, so THAT'S where they got the name!'. It's nice to see how these
fantasy worlds tie back to our own in inspiration.

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meritt
Another really amazing spot on Orkney is Maeshowe, it's a neolithic cairn
(from ~3000 BC) but Vikings in the 12th century looted and desecrated it with
a bunch of runic graffiti [1]. It's really cool to experience two facets of
history in the same location but millennia apart.

[1]
[http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/maeshowe/maeshrunes.htm](http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/maeshowe/maeshrunes.htm)

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anadem
There's some wonderful prehistory in the Orkneys. When I was a little kid
(1950) Skara Brae was just open to run around; my sis played house.

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wglb
A story more interesting than the title might first suggest.

 _" On the far curving shore of the bay lies Skara Brae, hazy through the sea-
haar." George Mackay Brown - Rockpools and Daffodils_

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Qworg
As part of our work in deploying the Natick datacenter to the Orkneys, we had
the opportunity to visit Skara Brae, as well as the other Neolithic sites. It
is a truly amazing place and the size of the civilization in the Orkneys at
that early stage is really incredible.

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jankeymeulen
Visited it a couple of years ago, really nice to see. Bit of a Flintstones
feeling, with stone beds and cupboards.

I was impressed by it, but one should not forget that at the same time this
was built the Great Pyramid was already 300 years old.

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prestonbriggs
Wikipedia disagrees. Skara Brae was occupied about 3190 BC. Earliest Egyptian
pyramids were started about 2630. The Great Pyramid was built about 2560 BC.

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amyjess
...and I just learned that Richard Garriott named his island city after
something real.

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SigmundA
Funny how that name takes me back to memories of a game...

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zaxquit
Lived in orkney since I was born, 19 years ago, it's amazing how much we don't
appreciate what's outside our doors around Orkney all the time :-)

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Jaruzel
I've been visiting my in-laws (who live just outside of Kirkwall in St Ola)
almost twice a year for 20 years now, and I still haven't become used to how
lovely Orkney is. Even got married in Kirkwall. There's a high possibility
we'll retire back there when the time comes.

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msolujic
Recently visited Lepenski Vir, oldest urban setlement known in Europe.
[http://www.serbia.com/visit-serbia/cultural-
attractions/arch...](http://www.serbia.com/visit-serbia/cultural-
attractions/archaeological-sites/lepenski-vir-the-oldest-urban-settlement-in-
europe/) Highly recommended for anybody interested into dawn of civilisation

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busterarm
I was really really hoping this post would be something Bard's Tale related.

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electricslpnsld
Or Ultima!

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rolleiflex
Oh man, we make ourselves so obvious. I was here for the Ultima Online
reference as well. There's something Baudrillardian here about the simulation
and the simulacra.

