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Skara Brae - The mystery of building number seven...

• Message 1. 

  Posted by widget (U2260877) on Sunday, 4th March 2007

  Hi guys.
  
  What are your theories on the mysterious building number seven?
  
  This building is the only house where the door could only be bolted from the outside which implies that the dwelling was used as a means of separating certain people from the rest of the community. It could possibly have been a prison, a place for pre-menstrual girls, or somewhere that young males would be housed during a ‘rites of passage’ ritual. One very important thing about this house is that two female skeletons were excavated from beneath the smaller bed. At first you would think that they had just died there, but it has been found that they were in fact buried there long before the house was even built. This makes this house stand out from the rest and as yet the question of why, or even if the house was intentionally built on top of these remains has yet to be answered. One theory is that the bodies were part of a special ‘foundation ritual’ which could mean that when built this particular house was destined for a higher purpose.
  
  What do you think?

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by thegoodbadugly (U2942713) on Sunday, 4th March 2007

  just looked at it on the web and it looks great,
  in this part of the world we have had buildings that predate the pyramids and other buildings world wide,they are not heavily visited because there was no gold found there,
  
  an interesting point to make is why are they all small settlements where as in other parts of the world these kind of places are much bigger,i put this down to clans as in these parts the clans were many and not big in number whereas in other parts of the world the entire nation built their buildings.

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  Posted by Nik (U1777139) on Sunday, 4th March 2007

  buildings exist all over the world 10,000s before our age and the one and only detail that decides whether we can find them is the geography of the place and its use, e.g. if the place has been one where the one culture followed the other, then most probably materials got recycled then if a place has a world record of earthquakes you cannot expect to find anything...
  
  explanations for the door locking from outside could be numerous... I am sure prisons were one of the first uses of buildings anyway...

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• Message 4

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  Posted by TwinProbe (U4077936) on Sunday, 4th March 2007

  Hi Widgetgirl,
  
  I was particularly interested in what you wrote since I hope to visit Skara Brae this summer. I take your point about separating members of the community but the ground plan of number 7 looks much like the others; not only a hearth but also the stone boxes that have been interpreted as tanks for softening limpets.
  
  It is impossible to be certain but I should have expected a 'rite of passage' hut to be distinct in its appointments, and perhaps further removed from the main habitations. Building 8 looks a better bet, but I gather that has been identified as being used for stone tool production.
  
  I don't know enough about the skeletons to have a view. I believe that the Skara Brae we now see was built on top of an earlier village on a slightly different alignment. Is it known whether there is an earlier structure under building 7?
  
  Best wishes,
  
  TP

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• Message 5

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  Posted by widget (U2260877) on Monday, 5th March 2007

  Hi All
  
  I can't make my mind up about the prison/rites of passage question, and i probably never will! They do know that there are numerous previous incarnations of the settlement, but it intrigues me that the bodies were directly underneath the bed. I agree Twinprobe that the building has a similar layout to the rest (Ebeneezer Howard would have been proud!)and that both a rites of passage room AND a prison would have been built apart from the other buildings. It's such a shame that there was no written word at that time, it could have answered many of our questions. But I suppose that is what makes History so interesting.
  
  Coming from a Heritage slant, I don't know what to make of the glass/perspex roof over one of the buildings. Apparently it makes the temperature inside soar during Summer months and is causing the walls inside to deteriorate. I completely agree with the steps taken to combat coastal erosion, but should we go so far in trying to preserve something, that we're actually shortening its life expectancy? Should most of the settlement be covered in earth/sand again to preserve it for future generations? Should visitor numbers be restricted so that not so many feet are trampling on the crumbling walls?

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• Message 6

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by widget (U2260877) on Monday, 5th March 2007

  Twinprobe - i forgot to say have a great time when you go. I really miss the North of Scotland and the Islands.

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