Discovering Knap of Howar: A Neolithic Marvel on Orkney
Situated in the Scottish Orkney Islands, on the island of Papa Westray, is the important archaeological site known as the Knap of Howar. Dating back to the Neolithic era, it is among the oldest known stone structures in Northern Europe. In 1929, local farmer William Dey and his son found the Knap of Howar while clearing a field. They found the remnants of what looked like prehistoric stone constructions. The location was quickly acknowledged as a significant archeological discovery. The Knap of Howar is older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza, estimated to have been built between 3500 and 3100 BCE. It comes from the Late Neolithic era, when farming communities were starting to settle in the British Isles and more substantial buildings were being constructed. Early in the 1930s, Scottish archaeologist J.F.S. Stone conducted excavations at the site. According to his research, the site included two exceptionally well-preserved stone structures that offered an insight in...