Until 1850, Skara Brae lay under the grassland behind the bay. Rough seas and high winds in that year revealed several houses, while in 1924 the remainder was uncovered as a result of similar weather.
Skara Brae's inhabitants were the Grooved Ware People, who are thought to have built the Maes Howe type [chambered cairns]?. It should be noted that there were several phases of occupation, and that all we can see today is the last phase.
The houses were built in midden? -- rotting rubbish -- to give greater stability; passages were dug out to connect the houses, which have 3 metre high walls.
On average, the houses measure 40 square metres in size, and contain a number of stone-built pieces of 'furniture' including 'cupboards', 'dressers', 'seats' and 'box beds'. Most houses have a large hearth which would have been used for cooking. Other anciliary rooms may have included storage rooms and -- possibly -- toilets.
A comparable -- if smaller -- site exists at Rinyo? on Rousay island. Unusually, no Maes Howe type tombs have been found on Rousay and although there are a large number of Orkney-Cromarty [chambered cairns]? these were built by Unstan Ware people.
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