The Heritage of the Orkney Islands
The Heritage of the Orkney Islands Orkney sunset at Brodgar
 
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Last updated: May 9, 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...
Last Additions
Full update details here.
The Battle of Summerdale
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The Battle of Summerdale, in 1529, as any Orcadian should be able to tell you, was the last pitched battle fought on Orkney soil.

Although history and local tradition now treats this confrontation as a battle, it is likely that it was little more than brief, but bloody, skirmish on the boundary of the parishes of Orphir and Stenness.

Click here for more details...
Runes in Orkney
Stone

When people first began to communicate in writing, their implements were crude, forcing them to make do with simple drawings that could be easily scratched on stone or wood.

Aside from the runic collection found in Maeshowe, one of the largest, and most famous, in Europe. there have been 19 examples of runes found in Orkney - as well as a few whose authenticity are open to question.

Ghost or companion spirit?
Coins

The ancient Orcadian beliefs surrounding death probably had something to do with the development of a number of Orkney's stranger ghost stories.

One belief in particular, the varden, could account for a large proportion of Orkney's spectral harbingers of doom. In Orkney it was once thought that everyone had a varden - a companion spirit - usually in the shape of an animal. This varden accompanied the person everywhere and would howl dismally when the mortal was about to die.


Contact the Author
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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.
Heart of Neolithic Orkney
Why Orkneyjar? Find out what the site's name means here.
Got a question? Check out the FAQ or visit the About Orkney Pages.
Maps
Click here for parish and island maps
Orkney Genealogy - click here for links to get you started.
Click here for Orkney Photoblog
Click here for details