And the villagers were real neighbours,
living cheek by jowl, their houses connected by walled,
sometimes decorated alleyways.
It's not too much for a stretch to imagine gossip travelling down
those alleyways after a hearty seafood supper.
We have, in other words,
everything you could possibly want from a village except a church and a pub.
In 3,000 BC, the sea and the air were a little warmer than they are now.
And once they'd settled in their sandstone houses,
they could harvest red bream and mussels and oysters
that were abundant in the shallows.
Cattle provided meat and milk,
and dogs were kept for hunting and for company.
During the Neolithic centuries
there would have been at least a dozen little houses here,
half-dug into the ground for comfort and for safety.
A thriving, bustling little community of 50 or 60.
But the real miracle of Skara Brae
is that these houses were not mere shelters.
They were built by people who had culture, who had style.
And here's where they showed off that style.
The fully equipped, all-purpose Neolithic living room,
complete with luxuries and necessities.