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Tracing 3,300 years of human story at Ring of Brodgar — from Neolithic origins through Modern times.
The Ring of Brodgar is constructed as part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney — a ceremonial landscape of exceptional richness on the isthmus between two lochs. The circle, the Ness of Brodgar temple complex, and the Stones of Stenness together form one of the most significant ritual centres in Neolithic Europe.
The first great stone circle on the isthmus is constructed at Stenness, with 12 tall, thin stones and a central hearth. This is among the earliest stone circles in Britain and establishes the Brodgar isthmus as a ceremonial centre.
A great circle of 60 stones is erected within a rock-cut ditch on the isthmus between the Loch of Harray and the Loch of Stenness. The circle is 104 metres in diameter. The ditch, cut into solid bedrock, is up to 3 metres deep and 10 metres wide — a phenomenal labour investment.
The massive ceremonial complex on the Ness of Brodgar, between the two stone circles, reaches its zenith. Enormous stone buildings with painted and decorated walls serve as temples or gathering halls for ceremonies that draw people from across Orkney and beyond.
The great temple buildings at the Ness are deliberately demolished and buried. Hundreds of cattle are slaughtered in a final feast of extraordinary scale. The ceremonial centre is ritually closed, marking the end of an era.
The great Neolithic ceremonial activity on the Brodgar isthmus comes to an end. Bronze Age burial mounds are added around the stone circle, and the monument remains a focal point in the landscape, but the era of large-scale communal ritual is over.
A number of burial mounds are constructed around the Ring of Brodgar during the Bronze Age. The Plumcake Mound and Salt Knowe are among the most prominent, suggesting the circle retained significance as a place associated with the dead.
Without maintenance, some of the 60 original stones begin to lean and fall. The ditch gradually silts. The monument enters a long period of slow decay, though it remains the most prominent landmark on the isthmus.
Iron Age communities on Orkney live alongside the ancient stones. Brochs and roundhouses are built on the islands, and the Brodgar circle stands as an unexplained relic of a distant past — already over 2,000 years old.
Broch towers and roundhouses are constructed across Orkney. The builders would have known the Brodgar stones intimately but their understanding of the monument's purpose is lost to us.
Norse settlers arrive on Orkney and incorporate the ancient monuments into their understanding of the landscape. The stones acquire Norse names and associations. Orkney becomes a centre of Norse power in the North Atlantic.
Norwegian Vikings settle on Orkney, establishing the earldom that will endure for centuries. The Norse encounter the ancient stone circles and chambered cairns and weave them into their own stories. Maeshowe is broken into and carved with runic inscriptions.
Norse visitors break into the chambered cairn of Maeshowe, 1.5 km from Brodgar, and carve runic inscriptions including boasts, love notes, and claims of treasure — the largest collection of runic inscriptions outside Scandinavia.
Orkney is pledged to Scotland as part of a royal marriage dowry. The islands and their ancient monuments come under Scottish governance for the first time.
Antiquarian visitors begin to record and describe the Ring of Brodgar. The monument attracts increasing attention as scholars attempt to understand the ancient world that created it. Early surveys and drawings document the surviving stones.
Visiting scholars and travellers begin to describe the Ring of Brodgar in published accounts. The monument is recognised as prehistoric but its purpose is entirely mysterious. Early drawings record the positions of standing and fallen stones.
Captain W. H. F. Mackay, a local farmer, destroys the Stone of Odin — a holed standing stone between Brodgar and Stenness that had been used for oath-swearing and betrothal ceremonies. The destruction causes public outrage and contributes to growing awareness of the need to protect ancient monuments.
A lightning strike shatters one of the stones of the Ring of Brodgar, dramatically illustrating the vulnerability of the monument to natural forces. The event is widely reported and adds to the romantic reputation of the site.
The twentieth and twenty-first centuries bring archaeological survey, World Heritage inscription, and the sensational discovery of the Ness of Brodgar. The Ring of Brodgar becomes one of the most visited and most studied stone circles in Britain.
Archaeologist Colin Renfrew conducts excavations at the Ring of Brodgar, producing the first modern survey of the ditch and examining the surrounding mounds. His work establishes the monument's importance within British prehistory.
The Ring of Brodgar, Stones of Stenness, Maeshowe, and Skara Brae are jointly inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name 'Heart of Neolithic Orkney,' recognising their outstanding universal value.
Geophysical survey reveals massive stone structures buried on the isthmus between Brodgar and Stenness. Excavation begins at what will become the most significant archaeological discovery in Britain in decades — a vast Neolithic ceremonial complex of monumental stone buildings.
After two decades of summer excavation, the Ness of Brodgar dig enters its final seasons. The site has revealed painted walls, enormous feasting deposits, and buildings that challenge assumptions about the sophistication of Neolithic society.
Neolithic
4 events
Bronze Age
2 events
Iron Age
1 event
Medieval
3 events
Post-Medieval
3 events
Modern
4 events