tiompan wrote:
The ring and ness of Brodgar at the time of build were on the shores of freshwater lochs , Stenness and Harray . Unlike Skara Brae which was facing the open ocean with no protection . The walls appear contemporaneous with the rest of stuctures and Skara Brae , if water was a problem would they have built the buildings at that spot and wouldn't the more exposed and residential Skara Brae be more likely to have also had protection ?
The only protection built into Skara Brae appears to be draft-proofing. Buildings submerged in middens, tiny doors off-set from prevailing winds, walled-in bed recesses and everyone's bed democratically set pretty equidistant from the central hearth. I like the idea that in the perishing Orkney winter winds the Skara Brae folks didn't need to go outside their draft-proofed homes to play firemen or drop the kids off at the pool, as there is drainage under those other strange wee cell-like rooms built into the houses walls (many think they are indoor toilets).
http://www.toilet-guru.com/neolithic.php
Here's the privy...
http://www.toilet-guru.com/pictures/skara-brae-dscf5199-tn.jpg
Don't ya just love those Skara Brae folks?