What was found at the Ness of Brodgar?

A huge Neolithic complex of buildings

Ring of Brodgar Quiz: Orkney's Neolithic Stone Circle

This Ring of Brodgar quiz stands among the tall stones on a strip of land between two Orkney lochs. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on its Neolithic age, its 60 original stones, its ditch cut into rock, the Stones of Stenness, the Ness of Brodgar dig, Maeshowe's midwinter light, Viking runes, Skara Brae and the Heart of Neolithic Orkney.

Start Ring of Brodgar Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Islands
Where is the Ring of Brodgar?
Age
When was the ring built?
Stones
How many stones did the circle originally have?
Ditch
What surrounds the stones?
Lochs
Between which two lochs does it stand?
Nearby
Which taller stones stand nearby?
Dig
What was found at the Ness of Brodgar?
Tomb
Which chambered tomb lights up at midwinter sunset?
Runes
Who carved runes on one of the stones?
Site
Which World Heritage Site includes the ring?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Where is the Ring of Brodgar?
Answer: Orkney
It is off Scotland's north coast.
Q2: When was the ring built?
Answer: In the Neolithic period
It is roughly 4,500 years old.
Q3: How many stones did the circle originally have?
Answer: About 60
Around half still stand.
Q4: What surrounds the stones?
Answer: A ditch cut into rock
It was dug without metal tools.
Q5: Between which two lochs does it stand?
Answer: Stenness and Harray
One is salty, one fresh.
Q6: Which taller stones stand nearby?
Answer: Stones of Stenness
They are even older.
Q7: What was found at the Ness of Brodgar?
Answer: A huge Neolithic complex of buildings
Excavations ran for many years.
Q8: Which chambered tomb lights up at midwinter sunset?
Answer: Maeshowe
Sunlight reaches its back wall.
Q9: Who carved runes on one of the stones?
Answer: Vikings
Norse visitors left graffiti.
Q10: Which World Heritage Site includes the ring?
Answer: Heart of Neolithic Orkney
Skara Brae is part of it.

Standing Stones Between Two Orkney Lochs

The Ring of Brodgar stands on a narrow strip of land between the Loch of Stenness and the Loch of Harray on Orkney's Mainland. Built in the Neolithic period, roughly 4,500 years ago, it is one of the largest stone circles in the British Isles, about 104 meters across.

It originally had about 60 stones, and around half still stand. A deep ditch was cut into the bedrock around them without metal tools. Nearby, the taller Stones of Stenness are even older, and one Brodgar stone bears runes carved by Viking visitors thousands of years after it was raised.

Between the two monuments, excavations at the Ness of Brodgar uncovered a huge complex of Neolithic buildings. Maeshowe, a chambered tomb, is aligned so midwinter sunset lights its back wall. With Skara Brae, these sites form the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site.

What This Quiz Teaches

History fans will enjoy these questions.

Where the ring stands
How old it is
How it was built
Which sites surround it
What later visitors left

Did You Know?

Rangers lead free walks around the ring in summer.
Orkney has thousands of archaeological sites.
The ring may have been used for gatherings and ceremonies.
Lightning has damaged at least one stone.
Skara Brae village lies on the west coast.