Stone Age to the Iron Age

1. History

Stone Age to the Iron Age
Year One
History | UKS2 | Stone Age to the Iron Age | Skara Brae | Lesson 2

2.

3.

Aim
• I can understand what was found at Skara Brae and why it is important.
Success Criteria
• I can explain how Skara Brae was discovered.
• I can tell you the names of some items found at Skara Brae.
• I can explain how Skara Brae shows that Stone Age people were beginning to
change how they lived.

4. Read All About It!

5. AGGRESSIVE STORM REVEALS UNDISCOVERED STONE AGE DWELLING.

The people of Orkney are used to bad
weather, but last
storm was no
ordinary storm. It revealed a secret kept
hidden for thousands of years; a site
previously inhabited by prehistoric people.
Local landowner, William Watt, was out
walking when he came upon this
extraordinary sight.
been walking these lands for many a
year, so the stone clumps that I could see
in the distance stood out as
explained Watt, 44.
William Watt could not believe his eyes as
the magnitude of what he had discovered
was slowly revealed.
Experts have not yet been called the scene,
because the landowner would prefer to
explore the artefacts himself. William Watt
thought that the buildings appeared to be
Neolithic (late Stone Age, around 3000
BC), which makes them older than the
ancient pyramids, Stonehenge and the
Great Wall of China.
Who knows what stories will be told as this
man digs for information at the site. What
we know for sure is that the people of
these islands are soon to discover more
about this hidden treausure.
By Thomas McDonnell.

6. What Did William Watt Find There?

William Watt spent 18 years investigating the site, finding four houses altogether.
Excavations (digging) were abandoned after this point.
However, in 1925, another storm damaged the houses that William Watt had
found. When people began to build a protective wall around the prehistoric
buildings, they found more Stone Age homes.
An archaeological dig began.

7. Information About Skara Brae

Skara Brae provides evidence that Stone Age people were beginning to
settle down in one place, making homes and farming, rather than being on the
move all of the time.
The people who lived there had started growing their own food and looking
after livestock.

8. Skara Brae

Skara Brae is a remarkably well preserved Stone Age village built in the Neolithic
period, around 3000 BC.
It was discovered in 1850, after a heavy storm stripped away the earth that had
previously been covering what we can see today.
Orkney is off the North coast of Scotland.
Skara Brae can be found on Mainland, the
largest of the Orkneys.
Photo courtesy of wronski (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

9.

The remains of eight houses stand on the site. They were not all built at the
same time, so at some point the original village was added to. Apart from
one building, which stands slightly separate from the others, the layout of
the houses is very similar.
The houses were linked by covered
passageways.
Photo courtesy of wronski and shadowgate (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

10.

The earlier houses had more of a circular
shape. There was one main room with a
fire pit in the middle, and beds built into
the walls at the sides.
Each house also had
a set of stone shelves,
called a dresser.
The later houses were slightly bigger
and more rectangular, although the
corners were still rounded. They still
built stone beds, but not into the
walls. The fire pit and stone shelves
remained.
Photo courtesy of wronski and shadowgate (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

11.

Although the doorways seem
very small to us, early humans
were shorter than we are today.
Lower doorways would also
have helped keep the weather
out.
The doors were stone slabs, and
could be bolted shut.
Although the doorways seem very
small to
Photo courtesy of wronski and shadowgate (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

12.

looking a little more closely.
No. 7
Some interesting facts about house
seven:
• The bodies of two women were
found in a stone grave under a
wall. They were buried before
the house was built. This could
have been part of a ritual.
• The door could only be bolted
from the outside. The people
inside the house would not be
able to leave of their own free
will.
• Unlike the other passageways, the
passage to house seven went only
to house seven.
What could these facts tell us?
What do you think the house might have
been used for?
Photo courtesy of wronski and shadowgate (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

13.

Unlike the other houses, all built closely together and linked with passageways,
house eight stands alone. It had carved patterns on the walls and no beds or
shelves. It could have been a workshop or meeting place, or simply built on the
site at a later date.
There were no windows, but there may have
been a smoke hole in the roof. There would
have been some light from the fire. As wood
was scarce on the Orkney Islands, they
were more likely to have burnt seaweed,
dried animal dung and peat.
No. 8
The floor area inside would be between 36 40m2. some people today who live in small
apartments might have the same living space.
With straw and heather to make mattresses and
animal skins for blankets, it would have been
relatively cosy at least compare to outside!
Photo courtesy of wronski and shadowgate (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

14.

The walls of the houses were built
against
piles of discarded
rubbish that would have protected the
walls from the elements as well as
provide a layer of insulation.
None of the houses have a roof, so
they must have been made from
something that has since perished.
A common early roofing material in
Orkney was seaweed, fixed with ropes
and stones.
They could also have used straw,
animal skins or turf, laid over a frame
of driftwood or whale bones found on
the shore.
Photo courtesy of wronski and shadowgate (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

15. What Else Was Found and What Does it Teach Us?

Animal bones including cattle
and sheep, and barley and
wheat grown nearby, suggest
a farming community.
The lack of weapons found
suggest that life was peaceful.
Plentiful remains of fish and
shellfish indicate they were
also skilled fishermen. Large
piles of limpets were found,
but these
necessarily
part of their diet, they may
have been used for bait.
Many examples of jewellery
were found including pendants,
pins, necklaces and beads.
Richly carved stone objects
might have been used for
religious rituals.
Bone tools, along with the
absence of tools for weaving,
indicate that animal skins
were used for clothing.

16. Breaking News!

In 1925, Skara Brae was the focus of an archaeological dig, to reveal the rest of
Your Challenge:
Can you plan a television news report from 1925 as if you are
archaeologists discovering the artefacts for the first time?
Watch this documentary.

17. Making News

Now work together with the other children in your group to gather your ideas
and create a group news report.
Remember to:
• Use facts.
• Explain when the site was first discovered.
• Include an interview.
• Explain why Skara
• Explain what the artefacts tell us about the Stone Age.

18. And In Tonight’s News…

1. Does the group explain when the
site was first discovered?
2. Is there an inverview?
3. Does the report explain why
Skara Brae has been chosen for
4. Does the report explain what the
artefacts tell us about the Stone
Age?
5. Is the report obviously set in
1925?

19.

Aim
• I can understand what was found at Skara Brae and why it is important.
Success Criteria
• I can explain how Skara Brae was discovered.
• I can tell you the names of some items found at Skara Brae.
• I can explain how Skara Brae shows that Stone Age people were beginning to
change how they lived.