'Though the Orkneys are on the northern frontiers in Europe, they nevertheless form an integral part of the European megalithic civilisation – and are on par with monuments in the heartland of that civilisation. What was it that made the Orkneys exceptional?The Orkney Islands sit on the northern tip of the British mainland. It is rumoured that one inhabitant once wrote “Bergen, Norway” as his nearest train station, rather than Edinburgh – let alone London as the nearest capital. The islands seem remote and yet they are the centre of a megalithic community whose traces remain clearly distinguishable in the landscape...Read more: