The structures at Skara Brae were constructed using dry stone construction with locally sourced Old Red Sandstone. The stone walls were built without mortar through careful selection and placement of interlocking stones. Houses were constructed with double stone walls filled with compacted midden material for insulation. Interior furnishings and fixtures were also made of stone, including seating, beds and cupboards. The skillful construction methods used helped make the structures impressively well preserved, showing a formal layout similar to a modern housing estate.

1. What were the materials and construction technology or method used?
The Building Material
Given the shortage of wood in Orkney, the people of Skara Brae made do with the only building
material available to them— stone. (Towrie, 2015)
Source of Material
The stones were gathered by the villagers from the immediate vicinity. Readily available all over
the Orkney Islands, Old Red Sandstone is an ideal material for effecting sophisticated masonry
construction. It tends to fracture into slabs which are just about the right thickness for the job.
Using local material gathered from the area, the rubble dry-stone construction illustrates the
builder's remarkable understanding of the structural use of stone, and an ability to exploit its
natural properties to advantage. (Wilson, 2005, p. 20)
Dry Stone Walling Technique
Structures of Skara Brae village were made using dry stone. Dry stone is a building method by
which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. Dry
stone structures are stable because of their unique construction method, which is characterized
by the presence of a load-bearing façade of carefully selected interlocking stones. (Dry Stone
Walling Association, 2012)

2. Dry stone structures often are known as dykes, particularly in Scotland. Many thousands of
miles of such walls exist, most of them centuries old including Skara Brae.
Arrangement of Stones
The strength of dry-built rubble stonework relies upon each stone physically touching its
adjacent and underlying neighbour. Each successive layer of masonry has its vertical joints
staggered to "break bond" so that the weight of every stone is effectively borne by those lying
immediately below. (Wilson, 2005, p. 19)
Double Wall
The type of stone walls built in Skara Brae is called a "double" wall. It is constructed by placing
two rows of stones along the boundary to be walled. The foundation stones are ideally set into
the ground so as to rest firmly on the subsoil. The rows are composed of large flattish stones,
diminishing in size as the wall rises. Smaller stones may be used as chocks in areas where the
natural stone shape is more rounded. The walls are built up to the desired height layer-by-layer
(course by course), and at intervals, large tie-stones or through stones are placed which span
both faces of the wall and sometimes project. These have the effect of bonding what would
otherwise be two thin walls leaning against each other, greatly increasing the strength of the
wall.
Advantage of the Wall Construction Method
Dry stone has been a successful building technique throughout the ages because of its unique
range of benefits. It provides good employment for craftsmen without working capital for heavy
equipment. Masons need a minimum of tools to erect structures that are remarkably durable;

3. yet, if damaged, are easily repaired. They resist fire, water, and insects. If correctly designed,
they are earthquake resistant. The work does not deplete natural resources, and aesthetically
compliments and enhances the landscape.
Midden Material
The various voids between the house walls were infilled with compacted midden material to
create an effective waterproofed wall core. Midden is rubbish deposit, rich in organic material,
which the villagers used to insulate their homes. Although the midden provided the houses with
a small degree of stability, its most important purpose was to act as a layer of insulation — an
absolute necessity given Orkney's climate. (Wilson, 2005, p. 20)
Roof Structure
Because nothing survived of the structures' roofs, it is assumed that they were made of a
perishable, organic material. It is likely that whalebone, or driftwood, beams supported a roof of
turf, skins, thatched seaweed or straw. Seaweed, weighed down with straw ropes attached to
stones, remained a roofing material in Orkney into recent history. The roof may have contained
a hole that allowed some of the smoke to escape. (Towrie, 2015)
Skara Brae is a well-planned stone structured village
Everything in the houses was necessarily made of stone, including seats, beds and cupboards.
The builders even incorporated stone sewers and drains underneath the stone floors so that the
people need not venture outside in the harshest of weathers.

4. A series of roofed passages were constructed that made it easy to go house-to-house in the
middle of winter. (Jarus, 2014)
How the materials and construction technology or method help making the building historically
significant and meaningful?
Stones Structures Made It Impressively Well Preserved
Dating from c.3100 – 2200BC, the best preserved sequence of Neolithic building developments
is at Skara Brae, Orkney. Continuing the Knap of Howar constructional techniques, the
juxtaposition of curvilinear low stonewalled houses, and interconnecting streets, created an
integrated village community. Exposed by a storm in 1850 the complex utilises the free flowing
nature of dry-built rubble work and contains sophisticated stone furniture, stone-on-edge
partitioning, with door, window and passageway openings spanned by slab lintels. (Wilson, 2005,
p. 19)
Stone Age Version of A Modern Housing Estate
These houses appear to be a Stone Age version of a modern housing estate, with a formalized
regularity of layout. Some prehistoric builders appear to have planned the whole development
so that they all had stone versions of modern conveniences inside each apartment. For instance,

5. the passages that wound their way between the houses, for example, forced visitor and
inhabitant alike to travel through the village in a specific fashion. The specific positioning of the
stone dresser, immediately opposite the door, also meant that it was illuminated by whatever
light came through the entrance as well as the light from the fire. (Knight & Homer, 2012, p.184)
Appreciation of The Skillful Ancient Builders
Whichever method is used to build a dry stone wall, considerable skill is required. Selection of
the correct stone for every position in the wall makes an enormous difference to the lifetime of
the finished product, and a skilled waller will take time making the selection.
As with many older crafts, skilled wallers, today, are few in number. With the advent of modern
wire fencing, fields can be fenced with much less time and expense using wire than using stone
walls; however, the initial expense of building dykes is offset by their sturdiness and consequent
long, low-maintenance lifetimes. As a result of the increasing appreciation of the landscape and
heritage value of dry stone walls, wallers remain in demand, as do the walls themselves.
References
Dry Stone Walling Association. (2012). A Guide to the Commissioning, Inspecting and Assessing
of Dry Stone Walling. [E-Reader Version]. Retrieved from
http://www.dswales.org.uk/files/Guide%20to%20inspecting%20English.pdf
Knight & Homer. (2012). Uriel's Machine: Reconstructing the Disaster Behind Human History. [E-
Reader Version]. Retrieved from
https://books.google.com.my/books?id=tXQN3GOFQK0C&pg=PA184&lpg=PA184&dq=These+ho
uses+appear+to+be+a+Stone+Age+version+of+a+modern+housing+estate,+with+a+formalized+
regularity+of+layout.&source=bl&ots=HkzJiFnbSi&sig=gm8ev7cBzlQW2vf4c_DnwE8SMUs&hl=e
n&sa=X&ei=RCs2VZzfBdDe8AWwkoHQDw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=These%20houses%20ap
pear%20to%20be%20a%20Stone%20Age%20version%20of%20a%20modern%20housing%20est
ate%2C%20with%20a%20formalized%20regularity%20of%20layout.&f=false
Owen, J. (2014). Skara Brae: Prehistoric Scottish Village. [Website]. Retrieved from
http://www.livescience.com/43783-skara-brae.html
Peter, W. (2005). Building with Scottish Stone. [E-Reader Version]. Retrieved from
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.119.5234&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Sigurd, T. (2015). The Furniture. [Website]. Retrieved from
http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/skarabrae/furniture.htm