ORKNEY ISLANDS RUINS ILLUMINATE STONE AGE LIFE.

Byline: Harry Shattuck Houston Chronicle

The town, an assemblage of dwellings older than Stonehenge or the Egyptian pyramids, is small in size but enormous in significance.

Skara Brae lay buried for more than four millenniums beside the Bay of Skaill on the western tip of the Orkney ``Mainland'' in remote northern Scotland. The prehistoric village was uncovered during the mid-19th century, when a fierce storm stripped the grass from a high sand dune.

Peer down into these one-room homes, and see central fireplaces, stone beds, dressers and cupboards built into thick walls - all situated just as they were 50 centuries ago. The remains of this farming and fishing community offer evidence of how our distant ancestors lived.

Skara Brae represents just one of many neolithic monuments and settlements in the Orkney archipelago. These 67 islands extend from six miles off the Scottish mainland for 50 miles north and northeast.

Some Stone Age monuments are scattered on smaller islands to the north. Among them: the Knap of Howar on Papa Westray, where two farmhouses built even before Skara Brae are well-preserved; the chambered tomb of Quoyness on Sanday; and almost 200 monuments on Rousay, sometimes called the ``Egypt of the North.''

The Orkneys are rich, too, in more recent Iron Age relics, especially brochs, or stone towers protected by walls and ramparts.

Partly for reasons of convenience, most tourists are drawn to four monuments on the western part of the Mainland (which despite its name is actually the largest of the Orkney Islands): Skara Brae; the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness, megalithic henge monuments that date back as many as 5,000 years; and Maes Howe, one of Europe's greatest chambered tombs.

Skara Brae: The Orkneys, where fierce tides and furious winds are commonplace, were largely unknown to much of the world until the Vikings began to arrive in the eighth century. These islands were part of Norway until 1472. But their role in history becomes clearer with every archeological discovery.

It is believed that the village of Skara Brae was inhabited continuously from about 3100 B.C. to 2500 B.C. Today, remains of the town exist a few feet from the bay. Once, it stood a considerable distance inland.

Most structures were built into, and surrounded by, midden, or rubbish heaps that took on the texture of tough clay. Once abandoned, the village became buried in sand. This combination of refuse and sand helped preserve the buildings.

Following the 1850 storm, Skara Brae was rediscovered - in part - by William Watt, the laird of Skaill, whose huge home still stands nearby. Watt supervised the excavation of four houses over the next two decades; others were cleared as recently as 1930.

After walking about half a mile to Skara Brae from parking facilities, visitors stand directly above the single-room dwellings, which are no longer roofed. Each dwelling includes a central hearth with a bed on either side and a shelved dresser. Alcoves set into the walls provided more storage space.

Most furniture was made of stone, including the beds whose ``mattresses'' were bracken or heather and whose covers likely were animal skins. One structure contains a fireplace but no beds or dresser. The building probably served as a workshop for making stone tools and a form of pottery now known as grooved ware.

The subterranean dwellings were connected by passageways. Skins laid on wooden or whalebone rafters and covered with midden served as roofs. The main passage - minus its roof - is visible.

Archeologists believe the town's residents were settled farmers who ate cattle, sheep, grain and fish. Skara Brae is open April through September from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays. From October through March, it closes at 4 p.m. Admission is about $4 for adults, $2.50 for seniors and $1.75 for children.

Ring of Brodgar, Stones of Stenness: Situated on twin promontories between the lochs of Harry and Stenness on the west Mainland and linked by a narrow bridge, these two stone circles may have been used for religious or ceremonial rituals.

Most archeologists believe the Ring of Brodgar dates back at least 4,500 years. Originally it consisted of 60 stones that stood in a perfect circle 340 feet in diameter. Twenty-seven remain upright. The ring is surrounded by a large ditch originally cut into solid rock.

Some historians believe the circle, and its surrounding mounds, were used as a lunar observatory as early as 1500 B.C. But like Stonehenge, its main purpose remains a mystery. One theory is that this circle and the Stones of Stenness anchored a ceremonial path.

The 12 Stones of Stenness likely were built 5,000 years ago. Among the four remaining large slabs is one that stands 16 feet high. Outlying stones may have been associated with them.

Admission is free at both sites.

Maes Howe: Near the Stones of Stenness, on a lush green slope situated in the center of what is now a cow pasture, Maes Howe illustrates another aspect of ancient culture. It also offers what some consider the best collection of stone-carved Viking runes, or inscriptions, in the world.

Dating to 2750 B.C., this ceremonial tomb is believed to have required up to 100,000 hours to build. Its grass-covered barrow is 22 feet high, 115 feet in diameter. The sun shines through a passageway inside the mound only at the winter solstice. The main chamber covers about 15 square feet.

Maes Howe is the greatest of several chambered tombs discovered in the Orkneys.

It is unknown how many people were laid to rest here. The tomb was excavated in 1861, and only a small number of human bones were found.

The Vikings, whose presence here is authenticated by numerous runic inscriptions clearly visible today inside the main chamber, may have removed some remains.

Admission is about $3.25 for adults, $2.50 for seniors and $1.25 for children.

On Location

The Orkney Islands can be reached via connections to Kirkwall from London or Glasgow. P&O car-passenger ferries operate between Scrabster (near Thurso) and Stromness, the islands' main port on the southern tip of the Orkney Mainland. The journey takes about two hours.

Information: Contact the British Tourist Authority by calling [phone] and request a copy of ``Scotland: Where to Go and What to See.''

Once on the Mainland, the Orkney Tourist Board can provide a wealth of information. Offices are located at 6 Broad St., Kirkwall, and in the Ferry Terminal Building in Stromness.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

Photo: At Skara Brae in Scotland's Orkney Islands, furniture, hearths, walls and passages remain intact from centuries ago.

Harry Shattuck/Houston Chronicle

Box: On Location (See text)