May 11 2008
Preventing erosion of Scottish Neolithic sites
 Skara Brae - click |
A LONG-TERM strategy is planned to protect one of Europe’s most important archaeological sites from erosion, says news.scotsman.com.
Skara Brae is vulnerable to coastal erosion. A Historic Scotland spokesman said: “When the settlement was built 5,000 years ago, it was at least 1km from the coast. The remains are now right on the edge of Skaill Bay, and … there is evidence to suggest that the rate of erosion has accelerated in recent years.” |
Archaeology is one of the main attractions for visitors to Orkney, and last year Skara Brae had 74,000 visitors and Maeshowe had 25,000. Measures have been put in place to reduce visitor wear.
Historic Scotland says careful management is required to ensure the WHS is conserved while also protecting wildlife, including birds on the RSPB Ring of Brodgar Reserve.
More detail can be found here.
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I’m glad they are considering this, though I have to wonder why they hadn’t considered protection before - after all, it was a storm that revealed Skara Brae in the first instance.