The Heritage of the Orkney Islands
The Heritage of the Orkney Islands Orkney sunset at Brodgar
 
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Last updated: December 8, 2008...
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Welcome to Orkneyjar - a website dedicated to the preserving, exploring and documenting the ancient history, folklore and traditions of Orkney - a group of islands lying off the northern tip of Scotland, where the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet.

Orkneyjar
is a privately-run, non-profit website, created and maintained by Orcadian, Sigurd Towrie.

  Site Spotlight
A brief selection of topics covered in Orkneyjar...
Recent Additions
Full update details here.
  • Link: Birsay-Skaill landscape archaeology project: Since 2003, survey and geophysics have been carried out at two locations on the west mainland of Orkney, at Birsay Bay and the Bay of Skaill.
  • Link: Research Orkney - Do you want to know more about the heritage of Orkney? Research Orkney provides a professional research, advisory and consultancy service dedicated to Orkney's Heritage; be it cultural, historical, archaeological, onomastic, toponymic, topographical or genealogical.
yule in the northern isles

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For the ancients the need to celebrate the rebirth of the sun athe winter solstice was an absolute necessity.

An Orkney winter is long, cold and dark. So dark in fact that there are more hours of darkness than daylight.

The midwinter traditions surrounding the festival of Yule were once strong in the islands. But Yule was not only about celebrating the return of the light. It was a time when creatures and spirits wandered, so a good proportion of the Yule customs we remember today were concerned with protecting the household against these malevolent influences.
Click here for more details...
maeshowe and the winter solstice
Stone Perhaps the best-known attribute of Maeshowe is its world famous midwinter alignment.

In the weeks leading up to the winter solstice, the darkest time of the Orcadian year, the last rays of the setting sun pierce the darkness of the long entrance passage to illuminate the interior of the chambered cairn.

Theories abound as to the significance of this phenomenon...
the kirkwall ba' games
Coins Twice each year, on Christmas Eve and Hogmanay, householders and shopkeepers along Kirkwall's winding main streets barricade doors and windows in preparation for the next day's traditional Ba' games.

The Ba' is played on Christmas Day and New Year's Day every year.

Contact the Author
To contact the author about any element of this site, click here.
Update Schedule
Orkneyjar is generally updated at least once a month, incorporating new content with relevant news and information relating to Orkney's rich archaeology, heritage and history.
Why Orkneyjar? Find out what the site's name means here.
Ring of Brodgar Excavation 2008
Ring of Brodgar Excavation 2008
Click here for Orkney Photoblog
Got a question? Check out the FAQ or visit the About Orkney Pages.
Heart of Neolithic Orkney
Maps
Click here for parish and island maps
Orkney Genealogy - click here for links to get you started.