Picto Diary - 21 September 2019 - Maeshowe; Orkney Part 1

Above: Brough of Birsay, Orkney Flag, Brough of Birsay Lighthouse. Orkney, Scotland 21 September 2019.

Out and about in Orkney.

Viking settlement on coastal island, Brough of Birsay, established in 1150 and abandoned 200 years later.

In the early 8th and 9th centuries the Vikings arrived in the Shetland Islands looking for land and for the next 600 years or so the Norsemen ruled both Orkney and Shetland. Surprisingly, although the Vikings had a reputation as fearsome warriors, they settled down and became farmers.

There are also many old customs dating back to the Norse occupation that are still followed in Orkney.

For example in Orkney, urine is smeared on the plough before cutting the first furrow in Spring, in order to promote fertility in the soil. At harvest time, the first sheaf used to be made into a kind of porridge, and the last household to finish harvesting had a straw dog, called the ‘bikko’, placed on its chimney stack. A great insult and humiliation! It is said that the secret society of the ‘Horseman’s Word’, whose initiates are told a word that gives them power over horses, is still strong in Orkney.

The Brough of Birsay lighthouse (aerial file image) was built 200 years ago by the Robert Stevenson, grandfather of famous Scottish author, Robert Louis Stevenson ("Treasure Island," "The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckell and Mr. Hyde").

Notably, Robert Stevenson invented intermittent and flashing lights. His invention earned him a gold medal from the King of Netherlands. Although most well-known for his lighthouses, Robert also engineered bridges, roads, and railways, among other things.

There is a path from the main island out to the Brough of Birsay, dry at low tide and under water at high tide. Driver Jean says that some people walk to the island at low tide and get stranded on the island when the tide comes in. The authorities mount rescue operations, but sometimes the water is too rough for the rescue boats. The only option is for the rescu-ee to wait nine hours for the tide to change.

Curiously, Orkney's flag is a near duplicate, but for its yellow striping, of the Norwegian flag (see image).

Above: Maeshowe burial mound. Entrance to Maeshowe. Schematic of Maeshowe. Orkney Islands. Scotland. 21 September 2019.

Out and about in Orkney.

Maeshowe is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave situated on Mainland Orkney, Scotland. It was probably built around 2800 BC. The monuments around Maeshowe, including Skara Brae, were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.

This chambered tomb, which sits on a platform encircled by a ditch, is a monument to the skill and beliefs of Orkney's people some 5,000 years ago.

Maeshowe's unique story continued when it was broken into about 1,000 years ago by Norsemen. They left their mark in runic graffiti, alongside the 'Maeshowe Lion' carving. Access by guided tour only, with timed ticketing.

Check the pictured schematic of the cairn. Bishop found it very difficult to walk, scrunched , the forty foot, long, four foot high tunnel into the tomb. Once there, huffing and puffing, he got claustrophobia standing in close quarters with twenty other tourists and a guide. He exited the tunnel before the guide presentation was over and found the exit more difficult than the entry, particularly the last 6 feet where the ceiling is diminished a further four inches or so. Bishop's unhappy face is due to his recent discomfort in working his way out of the narrow tunnel. Where's OSHA when you need them?

Maeshowe predates Cheops by 500 years!

We don't know as much about the Neolithic people who built Maeshowe as we do the Egyptians, as we find no writing or alphabet and little more than rudimentary tools and jewelry fashioned from animal bone or stone.

As with the pyramids, little is known about how, 5000 years ago, the neolithic peoples moved 30 ton stones to build the tomb.