The Orcadian archipelago is a museum of archaeological wonders.
Its largest island, Mainland, is home to some of the oldest and
best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, the most famous of which are
the passage grave of Maeshowe, the megaliths of Stenness, the Ring of
Brodgar and the village of Skara Brae - evidence of a dynamic society
with connections binding Orkney to Ireland, to southern Britain and to
the western margins of continental Europe.
Despite 150 years of archaeological investigation, however, there is
much that we do not know about the societies that created these sites.
What historical background did they emerge from? What social and
political interests did their monuments serve? And what was the nature
of the links between Neolithic societies in Orkney and elsehwere?
Following a broadly chronological narrative, and highlighting different
lines of evidence as they unfold, Mark Edmonds traces the development of
the Orcadian Neolithic from its beginnings in the early fourth
millennium BC through to the end of the period nearly two thousand years
later. Juxtaposing an engaging and accessible narrative with beautifully
evocative photographs of Orkney and its monuments, he uses artefacts,
architecture and the wider landscape to recreate the lives of Neolithic
communities across the region.
