| [00:02.10] |
And the villagers were real neighbours, |
| [00:03.70] |
living cheek by jowl, their houses connected by walled, |
| [00:07.89] |
sometimes decorated alleyways. |
| [00:09.58] |
It's not too much for a stretch to imagine gossip travelling down |
| [00:13.98] |
those alleyways after a hearty seafood supper. |
| [00:21.62] |
We have, in other words, |
| [00:22.58] |
everything you could possibly want from a village except a church and a pub. |
| [00:30.96] |
In 3,000 BC, the sea and the air were a little warmer than they are now. |
| [00:36.28] |
And once they'd settled in their sandstone houses, |
| [00:39.31] |
they could harvest red bream and mussels and oysters |
| [00:42.98] |
that were abundant in the shallows. |
| [00:58.57] |
Cattle provided meat and milk, |
| [01:00.37] |
and dogs were kept for hunting and for company. |
| [01:03.02] |
During the Neolithic centuries |
| [01:05.17] |
there would have been at least a dozen little houses here, |
| [01:07.27] |
half-dug into the ground for comfort and for safety. |
| [01:11.69] |
A thriving, bustling little community of 50 or 60. |
| [01:20.01] |
But the real miracle of Skara Brae |
| [01:21.89] |
is that these houses were not mere shelters. |
| [01:24.93] |
They were built by people who had culture, who had style. |
| [01:33.07] |
And here's where they showed off that style. |
| [01:36.15] |
The fully equipped, all-purpose Neolithic living room, |
| [01:39.79] |
complete with luxuries and necessities. |
