Orcadia

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 social and political interests did their monuments serve? What historical background did they emerge from?

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