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Orkney Islands
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Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands, Isles of Orkney, or the Orkneys) is an island group in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km) north of the coast of Caithness which comprises over 70 islands of which about 20 are inhabited. The largest island, known as the Mainland, has an area of 202 square mile (523 square kilometres), making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the ninth-largest island surrounding the island of Great Britain. The largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall.
Orkney contains some of the oldest and best preserved Neolithic sites in Europe and has been inhabited for at least 5,500 years. Originally inhabited by neolithic tribes and then by the Picts, Orkney was invaded and finally annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse. It was subsequently annexed to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry agreement. Origin: The name of the islands is first recorded by the ancient geographer Claudius Ptolmaeus (born AD 90, died AD 168), who called them Orcades. The old Gaelic name for the islands was Insi Orc which means the "Island of the Orcs". An orc is a young pig or boar. When the Norwegian Vikings arrived on the islands they interpreted the word orc to be orkn which is Old Norse for pinnipeds or common seal. The suffix ey means island. Thus the name became Orkneyjar which was shortened to Orkney in English. Pre History and Iron Age: A charred hazelnut shell, recovered during the excavations at Longhowe in Tankerness in 2007, has been dated to 6820-6660 BC. Apart from this, the earliest known settlement is at Knap of Howar, a Neolithic farmstead on the island of Papa Westray which dates from 3,500BC. The village of Skara Brae which is Europe's best preserved Neolithic settlement, is believed to have been inhabited from around 3,100BC. Other remains from that era include the Standing Stones of Stenness, the Maeshowe passage grave, the Ring of Brodgar and other standing stones. Many of the Neolithic settlements were abandoned around 2500 BC due to changes in the climate. 
House in Skara Brae
The Iron Age inhabitants were Picts, evidence of whose occupation still exists in "weems" or underground houses, and "brochs" or round towers. If, as seems likely, the Dalriadic Gaels established a footing in the islands towards the beginning of the 6th century, their success was short-lived, and the Picts regained power and kept it until dispossessed by the Norsemen in the 9th century. In the wake of the Scots, incursionists followed the Celtic missionaries about 565. They were companions of Saint Columba and their efforts to convert the folk to Christianity seem to have impressed the popular imagination, for several islands bear the epithet "Papa" in commemoration of the preachers. Anglo-Saxon Settlement: There is linguistic and documentary evidence that Anglo-Saxons settled in Orkney at least a century before they colonised what is now England, but being a minority group they were ultimately subsumed into the Norwegian population. So among the already rich ethnic heritage of every Orcadian (George Mackay-Brown’s “fine mixter-maxter”) can now be counted a few early English genes. Orcadians are descended from the very earliest English inhabitants of the British Isles. Norwegian Rule: Orkney and Shetland saw a significant influx of Norwegian settlers towards the end of the 8th century and first half of the 9th century. This was due to the overpopulation of Norway in comparison to the resources and arable land available there at the time. History once held that the Norwegians largely replaced the original population on the islands, the Picts, though contemporary DNA studies refute this, suggest instead a slight majority of aboriginal Pictish genes. The nature of the shift in population is the subject of differing theories as little hard evidence remains. These theories range from complete genocide to intermarriage and cultural domination through a gradual majority of dominance. According to Dr. Jim Wilson, an Edinburgh scientist with a company named EthnoAncestry, archaeogenetic evidence suggests that "Vikings, who colonised Orkney, did so by eradicating nearly every male member of its Pictish population" (Observer, Dec. 31, 2006). Vikings having made the islands the headquarters of their buccaneering expeditions, carried out raids indifferently against their own Norway and the coasts and isles of Scotland. Harald Hårfagre ("Harald Fair Hair") subdued the rovers in 875 and annexed both Orkney and Shetland to Norway. Ragnvald, Earl of Møre received Orkney and Shetland as an earldom from the king as reparation for his son being killed in battle in Scotland. Ragnvald gave the earldom on to his brother Sigurd the Mighty. Eirik Bloodaxe followed his father on the throne, but when his half-brother Håkon the Good returned to Norway from England Eirik's support disappeared and he fled the country. He was given Nordimbraland (Northumberland) as a fief by King Athelstan of England and settled in Jorvik (York), but was expelled by Athelstan's brother Edmund in 941 because of his raids in Ireland and Brittany. Eirik fled to Orkney and lived there until he was killed in the Battle of Stainmore in England in 954. His sons continued to live on Orkney and challenged Håkon the Good's rule of Norway several times under the leadership of Harald Greyhide. The sons of Eirik eventually gained control of Norway. The islands were Christianized by Olav Tryggvasson in 995 when he stopped in the islands on his way from Ireland to Norway. The King summoned Sigurd jarl (Earl Sigurd) and ordered him to let himself be baptised in the Christian faith. Sigurd was unwilling, but gave in when the King threatened to kill his son Hvelp. The islands received their own bishop in the early 1000's. From 1153 to 1472 the Kirkjuvåg bishopric was subordinate to the bishop of Nidaros (today's Trondheim). The martyrdom of Earl Magnus resulted in the building of St. Magnus' Cathedral in Kirkwall. The islands remained under the rule of Norse earls until 1231, when the line of the jarls became extinct. In that year, the Earldom of Caithness was granted to Magnus, second son of the Earl of Angus, whom the king of Norway apparently confirmed in the title. Recent studies from the field of population genetics reveal a significant percentage of Norse ethnic heritage — up to one third of the Y chromosomes on the islands are derived from western Norwegian sources, whereas in Shetland over half the male lineage is Norse. The Norðr-eyjar, likewise a Norse kingdom. The Kingdom of Mann and the Isles existed in the British Isles from 1079 till 1266. In 1164 it was split into the Kingdom of the Hebrides (Sodor) and the Kingdom of Mann. Sodor (Suðr-eyjar), or the South Isles, was given in contradistinction to Nordr (Norðr-eyjar), or the North Isles, i. e. the Orkneys and Shetlands, and it included the Hebrides, all the smaller Western Isles of Scotland, and Mann. (ð is pronounced th as in father). Even today, the Bishop of the Isle of Man is the Bishop of Sodor and Mann. Orkney boasts some of the best-preserved archaeological sites in Europe, including Neolithic villages, burial tombs and impressive stone circles. Orkneys 5,500 year-old Neolithic Heartland was granted World Heritage status by UNESCO in 1999. This includes the magnificent Ring of Brodgar - originally 60 stones in a vast circle between the Stenness and Harray Lochs, 27 of which remain standing. Close by are the Standing Stones of Stenness, Barnhouse Village and the tomb of Maeshowe, which is considered to be one of the finest architectural achievements of prehistoric Europe, and is Orkney’s largest and finest chambered cairn. The Vikings visited Maeshowe during the 12th century and left one of the largest collections of Norse runic inscriptions known. Skara Brae is an incredibly well preserved stone village containing an intricate maze of dwellings, with stone beds, lintels and cupboards are all intact, and dates back some 5,000 years. The site was revealed in 1850 by a violent storm and is now one of the most famous Neolithic sites in Northern Europe. The Vikings didn’t only leave their mark on Maeshowe, but their influence on place names, patterns of settlement, culture and language. It is a constant reminder of our Norse heritage. The names of islands and streets in Orkney are a constant reminder of the past and echo like an Ancient Norse litany. Along with the Shetland Islands to the north, Orkney remained under Norse rule till 1468, the last outposts of a dwindling Scandinavian dynasty to fall under Scottish influence.  Timeline: 10,000 BC Last of the Ice Age glaciers retreats 3900 BC The first human settlers are present. 3800 BC- 1000 BC Climate cooling, peat bogs developing.. 3600 BC Oldest remains at the Knap of Howar 3200 BC Oldest evidence of occupation at Skara Brae 3000 BC The Ring of Brodgar built 2750 BC The tomb of Maeshowe built 2700 BC Building begins on the pyramids of Egypt 2500 BC Skara Brae abandoned 700 BC Iron Age dwellings. 600 BC Brochs begin to appear 214 BC Great Wall of China being built BC 100 BC Broch of Gurness 300 - 800 Pictish culture in Orkney 600 Norsemen begin to arrive Viking raids begin in earnest 1115 St Magnus martryred 1137 Foundation of St Magnus Cathedral 1231 Death of John Harraldson, last Viking Earl |
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