Prehistoric Orkney II

Carrying on from yesterdays' post about my trip to prehistoric Orkney, our third and final day was spent at the sites we mainly came to see. Two of them needed to be booked in advance due to them being of world importance and thus visited more frequently.

Today was a day for extremely windy weather. Where I am from in the south of England we get the occasional storm where the wind speed reaches gusts of around 50mph (80kmh). Today we had constant wind speed of 50mph with gusts of an even higher velocity. What a difference constant wind speed makes! The easterly winds coming in from the Atlantic battered the western shores of Orkney with rollers that looked to be around 20-30 feet (10m) high!

Our first place to visit was Skara Brae. This was one of the sites we had to book in advance. Unfortunately, after coming all this way to specifically see this site (my main priority) it was closed due to the weather. I was a bit disappointed, but safety first. There was a visitor centre to look around and a mock up of one of the houses on site, so the trip wasn't completely wasted.

Skara Brae is a Neolithic site that was uncovered from the local sand dunes during a storm, probably not too dissimilar to what we experienced when we got there. There are several "houses" built of stone that appear to have been linked by stone-lined passageways. As mentioned in the previous post, I will not go into too much detail here as there is far more information available online.

I was able to purchase a bunch of guide books here for all the sites that I was going to visit plus some that I would not be getting around to this time, so I will have plenty to read in the coming weeks.

After the disappointment at Skara Brae, we headed on south to the Ring of Brodgar, the third largest stone circle in the UK after Avebury and Stanton Drew. As an aside, I have visited Avebury on several occasions, a well as dozens of other monuments around the UK including Stonehenge (I was privileged to be able to go within the circle as part of my Prehistoric Archaeology Diploma studies, as well as do some night photography under strict supervision with a friend of mine - alas, since his passing I no longer have access to those beautifully enigmatic shots), Castlerigg, Arbor Low and many stone monuments in Europe like Carnac, but I have never been to Stanton Drew - I have put it back on my list of places to visit.

The Comet Stone

View of the stone circle from the Comet Stone

A barrow mound

The narrow isthmus at Brodgar plays host to several prehistoric monuments, with this stone circle being the most prominent. Only about 27 of the original 60 stones remain, but they are still an amazing sight. The site has spectacular views over the two lochs (one either side) and the surrounding countryside - it is obvious that it was a special place back in the day (and it still is).

After spending quite a while walking around the stone circle we headed down to the Ness of Brodgar, but it was closed due to the new archaeological discoveries found there. So, we drove directly to our next port of call - another stone circle, but on a much smaller scale than the Ring of Brodgar.

The Stones of Stenness is a much smaller ring of stones, of which only four of the original 12 remain standing, but the monument is no less impressive for being diminished. Closely linked to the nearby Watchstone and Barnhouse Village, it is a site located within the Neolithic landscape alongside all the other stone circles, cairns, barrows and so on. It is most likely the oldest henge site in the UK.

The four remaining Stones of Stenness

The Watchstone in the distance

To bring all these sites together, I have attached a photograph of a signpost from the site. I do not own copyright to this so if the owners are not happy with me posting it, let me know and I will take it down.

A sign post at the site

A little to the southeast of here lies the final destination of the day; Maes Howe - a Neolithic chambered cairn. This was the second site that needed a ticket to visit as it can only be approached by official means. From the nearby visitor centre (with a small museum that we looked around whilst waiting for our transportation) a coach is laid on to the site with a guide. The site had to be unlocked when we got there and no internal photography was allowed. However, the guide was able to talk to us all about the site and answer all of our questions.

Inside the tomb, there is a fair bit of graffiti from down the years, the most prominent being from the time of the Vikings. The most talked about image is one of what is purported to be a dragon or wolf.

The Maes Howe graffiti - modern interpretation

The actual graffiti is open to interpretation, but it does look like a beast being stabbed. However, and I can see why the conclusion that it was a wolf was made, just below it and to one side are two other pieces of graffiti; one that looks like Jormungandr (the World Snake) and the other of a form that Loki often took. So, it could be assumed that the "dragon" is actually a representation of Fenrir, as both Fenrir and Jormungandr are children of Loki. There are also other pictures of Fenrir and wolves from the same period found elsewhere in the Viking world that look very similar.

So, that was the end of my wonderful trip to Orkney. I missed a few things and would like to return someday to complete my story. The people at the B&B we stayed in and everywhere else we went were so friendly and welcoming. It is a lovely part of the world to be in whether you want to immerse yourself in the archaeology and myths, or just partake in the wonderful pace of life that is the Orkneys.

Prehistoric Orkney

We had a late holiday this year to coincide with a certain landmark birthday of mine. We decided that we wanted it to be a bit special, so a visit to Orkney was on the cards. This is a place I have wanted to go to since I was a small boy - the prehistoric monuments have held the utmost fascination for me over the years.

It was a long time in the planning as there was to be a lot of driving, ferries and places to visit and stay to add into what would be a very busy itinerary. We started with a drive to Inverness for an overnight stay in a wonderful B&B before heading to Scrabster for the ferry to Stromness on Orkney mainland.

Due to the amount of sites and the large number of pictures and videos taken (of which I will only be posting a tiny amount), I will split the details over two posts to make reading and uploading easier. This post will feature the first few days of our visit.

The first item on the agenda was The Old Man of Hoy. This is just a geological artifact - a sea stack - but fascinating none-the-less. Luckily, rather than having to spend half a day and a fortune hiring a boat to get to it, the ferry ran right past it on the way to Orkney. Result! The day of the sail-by was very overcast with a lot of sea mist (the way back wasn't much better either), so photo and video quality turned out to be quite poor unfortunately. But, I have seen it now - twice!

The Old Man of Hoy

Upon arrival in Orkney, we decided to split our adventuring days between sites that were less well known (no need to book) and those that are more well known (need booking in advance). First up on the archaeological tour was a site at Isbister on the southern-most island of South Ronaldsay. It was a bit of a drive from our base on the outskirts of Kirkwall, but most of the islands around Scapa Flow were barricaded with causeways by Churchill during the war, which meant that the roads built atop them allowed travel to the most remote of places within the archipelago.

There are actually a few things to do here at Isbister; there is the Visitor Centre with a small museum, a Bronze Age building and the Neolithic stalled tomb. After paying a small fee to go see the sites, we had a longish walk (about one mile - 1.6 km) along very wet and boggy pathways to the Liddle Burnt Mound and Bronze Age building. As with all of these entries I will not go into too much detail, just conversational level, as more accurately recorded materials can be found online or in books from your local library. It is assumed that the mound is made up of thousands of burnt stones (once burnt they discolour and contaminate the water they are submersed in so are replaced quite often) that were used to heat the water in the large tank. It is assumed that the building is a ritual site, but other theories suggest it may have been a steam/sauna house or feasting hall.

The Bronze Age building and mound (just visible to the left)

The 1000+ litre water tank

The building from atop the burnt stone mound

The second site at this location is called The Tomb of the Eagles. This Neolithic burial chamber, situated just a short distance from the Liddle Burnt mound, is so called because of the number of sea eagle remains found within it when it was first discovered. There is another chambered tomb not far up the coast named Tomb of the Otters, but that was closed for this season (2026). From the names, it seems like there may have been some totemic symbolism involved - different families or tribes? Again, like with most things ancient, it is all open to conjecture.

Tomb of the Eagles

The entrance to the tomb is a very low tunnel around ten feet long (3m), but the site owners handily supplied a small wheeled cart to lie down upon to pull oneself into and out of the tomb. It is not for those with any difficulties with motility or claustrophobia, but once inside the tomb opens up and can be stood up in. It is quite large and the roof is vaulted in modern concrete to allow for the safety of visitors, but it does not detract from the awe that the tomb inspires. Clear plastic holes in the roof let in ample light, even on dull days like the one we had when we visited.

We took the alternative cliff top route back to the visitor centre in the hope of spotting some wildlife - sea otters, dolphins and whales apparently, but we saw none of those - however we were pleasantly rewarded by watching a sea eagle (that has only recently been reintroduced to the area) majestically fly by.

The museum is very basic, but there are a few artifacts from each site available to see. The staff are very enthusiastic and will talk to you about the sites and their history. There is also a nice little guide book that can be purchased for a smallish fee (£5 at the time of this visit) with lots of details.

As mentioned above, we tried to go to the Tomb of the Otters but it had been closed. So, we looked around for something else to see before we lost the light as the weather encroached. Luckily, the Castle of Burwick, an Iron Age promontory hill fort was located nearby. Unfortunately, it is situated along a steep cliff path which makes it difficult again for those with motility or vertigo issues, and there is not a lot of it visible to the casual observer when you get there. The only way it can be positively identified is by the hammer-head shaped promontory it was built upon.

Iron Age Castle of Burwick promontory

The second day in Orkney was spent closer to our base in Kirkwall. I started the day with a run at the local parkrun in town and then after breakfast and a shower we headed into town to visit the museum. It is a small museum but it contains a lot of material dating from the early Mesolithic period right through to the modern day. My main areas of interest were in the first few rooms - Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages, as well as the Viking period. I also had a pleasant surprise in the 20th Century room with a small tribute to Jim Baikie of 2000AD fame. The visit took us about three hours to get around everything.

A visit to the very nice Deerness gin distillery to sample and buy a couple of bottles rounded out the day for us.

See next post for details of some of the more well-known Orkney sites.

Midgard : Britannia - miniatures update 2

As promised last time, this post will be a commentary on what has been painted and what still needs to be painted for my Midgard Heroic Battles : Britannia Briton and Roman forces.

The Romans required for the campaign had already been painted by the time I came to play any games, but most of the Britons still needed a lick of paint. After approximately three months of hobbying, I now have two great looking armies that are painted and based for gaming in the realms of Midgard. I also still have a small pile of unpainted miniatures for both factions.

Here is the full list of all the Celtic figures that are in my collection and their state of play...

Painted Briton figures detailing those that are now based for Midgard...

Briton Army

Briton Army from above

• 40 standard warriors (4 bases - plastic)
• 20 elite warriors (2 bases - 1 plastic, 1 metal)
• 10 female warriors (1 base - metal)
• 10 mounted warriors (2 bases plus 2 extra - metal)
• 8 archers (2 bases - metal)
• 10 slingers (2 bases plus 2 extra - metal)
• 8 skyclad warriors (2 bases - metal)
• 4 hounds (1 base - metal)
• 4 druids (metal)
• 6 chieftains and champions (metal)
• 3 chariots and crew (1 base plus 1 extra - metal)

Unpainted Celtic figures...

The remaining unpainted Celtic figures

• 40 warriors and elite warriors (plastic)
• 8 javelinmen (metal)

And, here is the full list of all the Roman figures that are in my collection and their state of play...

Painted Roman figures detailing those that were based for Midgard...

• 80 legionaries (4 bases - plastic)
• 6 officers (plastic)
• 7 officers (metal)
• 11 mounted auxiliaries (2 bases - metal)
• 8 auxiliary officers (metal)
• 24 western auxiliaries (1 base - metal)
• 16 western archers (1 base - metal)
• 24 eastern auxiliaries (1 base - metal)
• 16 eastern archers (1 base - metal)

I am unsure whether to make up any more bases for the remainder of each troop type. I will cross that bridge when I come to play a game and work out whether I need any new bases created or not.

Unpainted Roman figures...

Most of the unpainted Roman figures

• 53 legionaries and officers (plastic)
• 2 officers (metal)
• 9 Balearic slingers (metal)
• 12 Numidian cavalry (metal)
• 6 hounds (metal)
• 1 eastern archer (metal)
• 1 western auxiliary (metal)
• 4/11 artillery and crew (resin and metal)

Note: due to being in another box that I couldn't get to right now, the above picture does not contain the Balearic slingers, hounds or the bulk of the artillery/crews. When I get around to daubing these factions again, I will try to remember to take full before shots of what needs painting.

So, this brings me to a decision - what to paint next? I have a hankering after doing some Lord of the Rings stuff, so I reckon I will begin working on my generic orcs; both official Games Workshop stuff based on the films, plus any other "unofficial" figures that fit in with them. I have a feeling that I may need to buy a small number of miniatures to round out some units to fit onto Midgard bases, but I will detail my thoughts when I write the first post on the collection as it currently stands. I will also need to choose an enemy for them (Gondor, Rohan, Elves or Dwarves I imagine) to paint directly afterwards so I can play some games when they are completed.

Vecna: Eve of Ruin (#8) - The Mausoleum III

After we realised that we would get no more information out of Shanzezim, we gave his room one last casual glance to make sure there were no further exits and then left to explore the rest of the underground complex.

We passed back through the pool room and explored the short tunnel and doorway to the west. The room was devoid of anything of interest except for a load more pipes and three cogs which we looked up briefly on the parchment Shanzezim gave to us to see what the did.

A quick discussion led to us following Navda back to the large room with the numerous doors, behind one of which we rescued Shaselle, and we decided to look closer at the door at the top of the stairs. The painted eye symbol on the door gave us all the creeps, but we opened it anyway.

Beyond the door was a staircase down, which didn't make much sense - why go up the stairs just to go down them again? At the foot of those stairs we encountered a room with four different sized bells suspended equidistant from the ceiling by ropes. We noticed that footprints led mostly via the north side of the bells, so Navda scouted ahead in that direction. A quick listen at the door told him that there were people in the room beyond. He then pushed the door slightly ajar to make out five cultists within the room mid argument. He motioned us forward with a finger to his lips but, unfortunately, Druss managed to knock into a bell that set it ringing.

The game was up so we all advanced to support Navda. We noticed a few of the cultists cast spells but without any verbal components to them. Puzzled, as nothing seemed to affect us, we none-the-less entered into the room and a melee erupted. As soon as he entered the room, Druss started to act strangely and dropped all of his weapons before he turned around and left the room. Gladreth, leaving nothing to chance, cast a Lightning Bolt that severely injured three of the cultists, whilst Navda and I loosed arrows and slingshot at the leader (we assumed he was the leader as he was wearing a necklace of teeth in addition to the usual eye insignia). Unfortunately, the leader had a few tricks up his sleeve too, and he Fireballed the entire room singeing us all in the process. Gladreth returned the favour by casting her own Fireball that killed three of the cultists, and then Navda shot the leader dead.

Druss came out of his fugue and closed the door at the bottom of the stairs that led to the bell room. All the other three doors in the room were closed. Despite this, we still felt uneasy. As the combat had stopped, we decided to take up positions guarding each door and investigated some of the contents of the room. We searched the bodies for treasure (we got a pouch of gems and a few of the amulets each cultist wore for our troubles), and found that the basin in the corner contained normal water but the bottom of it seemed to be gold coated. The tables contained some bread and goblets of what looked like cheap wine; we did not attempt to eat or drink any of it.

Just as we were beginning to relax a little, the door to the north of the room opened. A robed, skeletal figure stood in the doorway. Druss charged it down and struck it mightily with his battle axe whilst Navda simultaneously loosed a shaft that ended its un-life.

As the body crumpled to the floor we heard the bells peal from the bell room. Dharion cast a spell that created a tangled web of thorny vines that filled the stairwell to slow down any potential intruders.

The door to the west now opened, but this time we did not see anyone. Navda took a quick look only to see an empty bed chamber. Suddenly, a cultist appeared from beneath the stairs in the main room we were all in and cast a Fireball. At this point I was knocked unconscious by the blast. From what was said when I came to, Gladreth had rushed to my aid and the warriors took down the cultist very quickly.

The Helix Mausoleum

Just as everyone thought that this must surely be the end of the combat, another cultist suddenly appeared and cast a spell at Gladreth, which she shrugged off. Dharion put an arrow into him and Druss delivered the coup de gras. A quick search of the bodies gained us a few more gems and a number of eye symbol amulets, as well as several decent robes that we could use for disguises.

After a quick discussion, we realised that Invisibility must be being used, so not wanting to get caught out again, we trapped the doors to make a noise if opened. Gladreth, Druss and I then quartered the room in search of further cultists, whilst Dharion stood watch and Navda explored the guard room (there were only a four cots and a few piles of bones in there). We didn't find any more cultists, but just as we finished up our search, Dharion heard a knock at the bell room's door. Then silence.

Just as we thought we might be safe again, the items that we had set to the trapped northern door fell down with a clatter. A few moments later, another cultist appeared levitating close to the ceiling. She cast an icy blast kind of spell and, as I was not fully healed from the previous Fireball, I went unconscious again.

Gladreth was Commanded to give the cultist, who had now descended to the floor, a hug which meant no-one could strike her (the cultist). Druss didn't give two hoots and took the risk. He cut the cultist down with his battle axe whilst Navda struck her with an arrow as she let go of Gladreth. Gladreth rushed over to administer aid to me to keep me alive whilst Dharion Healed me. The cultist's body was searched and a key chain with four keys on it was found alongside another pouch of gems. As the search was going on I cast a Prayer of Healing to give everyone back some health.

Whilst we got ourselves organised, Navda went through the northern door to explore a little further. He came back after a few moments to say that there was a long corridor with several rooms along it, some with new padlocks. He mentioned that he had stuck his head inside one of the rooms only to discover several cultists and a couple of ghouls. One of the rooms had the potential to be a holding cell.

Vecna Cultists - courtesy of Fantasy Grounds

Midgard : Britannia (Chariots 2)

And with this last chariot on its base, that is the project completed! After just over three months (started 6th June 2026 and ended today, 10th September 2026) of painting and modelling, all of the Celt models used in the Midgard : Britannia campaign, plus a few others, are finished. Here is the last of the chariots...

Chariot variant 2

From another angle to show some grisly trophies

I added a couple of severed heads from the Celtic Warrior plastic box sets to this model to give it a bit more authenticity. Unfortunately the whole base looks a little too blue for my liking, I should have thought about the colour scheme a little more before committing to it. I have also just noticed that I forgot to paint the horses' eyes - maybe I will remedy that at a future date.

Here are all three of them together...

Chariot squadron

Briton figures progress (135 of 135 completed)...

• 106 figures based and ready for use with the Midgard rules set
• Druids (4 metal figures)
• Chieftains and Champions (6 metal figures)
• Slingers (2 metal figures)
• Mounted warriors (2 metal/plastic figures)
• 3 Chariots and crew (15 metal figures)

And the remainder...

• 40 Standard and elite warriors still on their sprues (plastic figures)
• 8 Javelinmen (metal figures)

So, what to do now? I still have those unpainted plastic Celtic Warriors and a small warband of eight metal javelinmen to complete. As stated before, though, I would like to move onto something different next and leave these, together with the Roman remnants, until another future date.

Next post will hopefully feature a summary of where I am at with both the Briton and Roman armies. I will try to photograph at least some of them again for a sense of how they all look on the table and also to catalogue what I have left for a future painting project. I have plenty of Roman and Celt figures still left to paint, so I imagine that would be another summer's project.