Wonders of the world in 3D
Skara Brae in 3D
Neolithic village, Orkney
Bay of Skaill, Mainland Orkney, Scotland
Skara Brae is a Neolithic village on Orkney, lived in for about 600 years from around 3100 BC and buried by sand until a storm in 1850 tore the dunes open. Every house has the same plan: a central hearth, a stone dresser facing the door and box beds against the walls. This 3D walk lets you look into the houses from above and along the shore of the Bay of Skaill.
Key facts
- Where
- Bay of Skaill, Mainland Orkney, Scotland
- When built
- Lived in from about 3100 to 2500 BC
- Size
- Eight stone houses linked by covered passages
- UNESCO World Heritage
- 1999
Walk Skara Brae in 3D
A real-time 3D model, built from open elevation data and published measurements. Loads 1.8 MB when you start.
Terrain and sky from open data · stones from published measurements · tags as in the app
Hear the guide
The narrator from the app reads each tour stop. Transcripts below.
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House 1
KnownEvery house has the same plan: a central hearth, a stone dresser facing the door, and box beds against the walls. The village was lived in from about 3100 to 2500 BC.
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The Bay of Skaill
KnownA storm in 1850 tore the turf off the dunes here and exposed the village, which had been buried for some 4,000 years.
How to visit in real life
Skara Brae is cared for by Historic Environment Scotland. It sits on the west coast of Orkney's Mainland, about 30 km from Kirkwall, with a visitor centre and a full-size replica house you can step inside.
Opening times and tickets change: check the official site. Official site
Open Skara Brae in Farstep
The full site on your phone: a narrated guided tour, passport stamps, offline, and smoother graphics than a browser can give.
- Narrated guided tour, stop by stop, in nine languages
- Passport stamps for every hotspot and finished tour
- Works offline once installed
- Stonehenge free; other sites are one-time packs. No ads, no subscription.
Open in Farstep
On iPhone the button opens the App Store.
Questions
How old is Skara Brae?
It was lived in from about 3100 to 2500 BC, which makes it older than Stonehenge's sarsen circle.
How was Skara Brae discovered?
A great storm in 1850 stripped the grass off the dunes at the Bay of Skaill and exposed the stone houses, which had been buried for some 4,000 years.
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