“We cannot live fully without the treasury our ancestors have left us” - George Mackay Brown


Winter sunset over the Watchstone and the Hoy Hills from Odin
We feel the Watchstone is ours when we sit in the front porch at Odin!

The Ness of Brodgar Neolithic site is one of the most exciting archaeological digs in the world. Odin is in the background over the bridge, a short walk away.

"The Heart of Neolithic Orkney" is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It is one of over 830 places in the world regarded as having outstanding universal value and ranks alongside some of the most famous in the world, including Stonehenge, Avebury and the Jurassic Coast in England, the Pyramids in Egypt, the Great Wall of China and Machu Picchu in Peru.

Odin is spectacularly situated in the midst of this World Heritage Site, at the meeting point of the Lochs of Stenness and Harray.  The Standing Stones of Stenness, dating from c.3000BC stand in the adjacent field, while Barnhouse Neolithic Village is opposite the back door! This is a unique property whose situation is unmatched in Orkney.

The World Heritage Site includes Maeshowe, Skara Brae, the Standing Stones of Stenness (with the Watch Stone and Barnhouse Stone) and the Ring of Brodgar together with adjacent standing stones and burial mounds.  All of these monuments were built and used during, the first half of the 3^rd millennium BC.  They are exceptionally fine and authentic: relics of the period when, world-wide, great civilisations started to arise.  The architectural achievements of the people living in Orkney speak of a level of sophistication which matches that of the centres of Mesopotamia and North Africa.

Orkney's "Neolithic Cathedral" Geophysical investigations of a field on the Ness of Brodgar peninsula revealed the presence of several large structures. A large scale archaeological dig has now being going on here for several years. A very large "Neolithic Cathedral" has been revealed.and has been quoted as being built to “amaze” and “create a sense of awe” among those who saw it.

It is about 20m in diameter, with walls up to 5m thick which survive to 1m high. Stone furniture, tools and pottery have been found. Much of the stonework is of very high quality. In summer the Brodgar Rangers run tours during the excavation season.

The nearby Standing Stones of Stenness

Click on links below for more information on nearby sites: Neolithic Orkney Maeshowe The finest example of a chambered cairn in Orkney Chambered Cairns Tombs dating from the Neolithic - approx 5,000 years ago Runes Twelfth century Vikings left many runic inscriptions in Maeshowe Skara Brae Famous Neolithic village at Bay of Skaill dating from 3rd Millenium BC Ring of Brodgar Orkney's dramatic and impressive henge monument Standing Stones Stone circle near Maeshowe Ness of Brodgar Spectacular site of a "Neolithic Cathedral" Barnhouse Settlement Neolithic settlement near the Standing Stones of Stenness Other Standing Stones The Watchstone, Odinstone and Barnhouse Stone

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