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Ancient monument

The Ness of Brodgar

Mainland, Orkney

A great Neolithic temple complex hidden under a farmer's field.

In 2003 a ploughed field between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness revealed a carved slab. Beneath it lay a complex of large stone buildings, some with painted walls.

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When
c. 3100 BC
Where
58.9970, -3.2160
Group
Circles & monuments

Visiting

The dig is covered over; the Brodgar visitor area explains the site.

Cover of The Ledger of Lost Britain by Cale Mills
From the book

The Ledger of Lost Britain

The strip is the Ness of Brodgar, and for most of history it was a farmer’s field.

The Romans arrived in AD 43. For most people that is where the history of Britain begins. But by the time the legions landed, people had already been living on these islands for thousands of years. They had hunted, farmed, mined flint, dragged stones across the country, raised a hill by hand, and buried their dead in great tombs. They left no written words. What they left was the ground itself. Every place in this book can be visited, or has been dug up, or is in a museum.

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