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Britain's Ancient Capital: Secrets Of Orkney

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spencer S
spencer Jan 17, 2017 23:39:23
Replying to moss

Aaaaaaaaaagh. My mate invited me round for a jar or three last night. I readily agreed, and got pleasantly merry. I was less so when I found out I'd missed the third episode too : ( : ( : ( hi ho..anyway, a question. Or two. Has the origin of the Orkney vole been determined now? Have there been any artifacts from far flung and unexpected places been discovered..if so, what? Have any artifacts from such places of contemporary date been found elsewhere on Orkney, or Shetland for that matter...or, indeed, in Denmark?

S Sanctuary
Sanctuary Jan 18, 2017 09:34:41
Replying to spencer

spencer wrote:
Aaaaaaaaaagh. My mate invited me round for a jar or three last night. I readily agreed, and got pleasantly merry. I was less so when I found out I'd missed the third episode too : ( : ( : ( hi ho..anyway, a question. Or two. Has the origin of the Orkney vole been determined now? Have there been any artifacts from far flung and unexpected places been discovered..if so, what? Have any artifacts from such places of contemporary date been found elsewhere on Orkney, or Shetland for that matter...or, indeed, in Denmark?
Re the vole - Belgium would appear to be the favourite.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkney_vole

H Howburn Digger
Howburn Digger Jan 19, 2017 12:21:10
Replying to spencer

spencer wrote:
Have any artifacts from such places of contemporary date been found elsewhere on Orkney, or Shetland for that matter...or, indeed, in Denmark?
It goes considerably earlier than that. I am a bit perturbed at this whole Orkney-centric broohaha being generated by the Ness dig and anxious archeos trying to elbow in on the fuss.

The earliest known continental crossings into Scotland/ North Britain were done about 9 or 10 thousand years before. The Hamburg-ish People crossed from Germany and Denmark dryshod (might have been a little marshy in places). This wouldn't have been a one off, it would have been a seasonal, semi-permanent state of affairs. As the available routes across what is now the North Sea changed so the patterns of seasonal migration and settlent would have changed.

Late Upper Paleolithic Hamburg People tanged tools found here in Biggar at Howburn Farm. 14, 000 years old.

http://www.biggararchaeology.org.uk/news03_109_howburn.shtml

This Secrets Of Orkney programme seems to suggest a sudden wave of boats full of voles and stone builders setting off from Rotterdam on the high tide around 3,500 BCE.
The Ness is a very interesting site (I love what appears to be domestic RA), but the whole Orkney-centric "turn-everything-on-its-head" seems a little over-egged perhaps.