Skara Brae Sea Wall Gets A Stronger Toe
20 Jan 2009
Stonehenge inspires tests for new paths at Orkney site
Photo © Adrian Welch
Work is about to begin on strengthening the foundations of the sea wall
near the Neolithic village of Skara Brae.
The waves have undermined a section of the concrete toe on which the protective
walling was built and could cause damage if left unrepaired.
Historic Scotland has started a project which will involve digging two
metres down, insert a new reinforced concrete toe with steel securing
rods to bond the existing toe to the underlying bed rock.
Stephen Watt, Historic Scotland district architect, said: "This is
an important piece of work along a 15-metre stretch of wall and will involve
a considerable amount of highly skilled work.
"The area affected is a bit beyond Skara Brae itself, but it is important
because it stops the sea outflanking us.
"These are interim measures which help protect an enormously important
part of Scotland's heritage.
"We are currently working with a number of other groups and organisations
to put together a strategy to protect the entire bay from the effects
of natural erosion."
This year Historic Scotland will also be trying out two alternative surfacing
materials on paths at Skara Brae.
Both have been a success at Stonehenge and may prove a hard-wearing and
visually sympathetic alternative to the existing hard stone paths used
in Orkney.
Mr Watt said: "A group of us travelled to Stonehenge last summer
to see what we could learn from their experience in developing path surfaces
that are long-lasting, easy for visitors to use, and do not look out of
place near an ancient monument.
"We were very impressed with what we found.
"In some places they have a special turf which can take a lot of
wear and tear and elsewhere they have artificial green matting which is
coloured to blend in with the surroundings and is very slip resistant.
"We are going to try these out in a couple of areas and monitor them
for 18 months to see if they would be appropriate at Skara Brae."
A stretch of artificial matting will be laid in coming weeks and turf
will be introduced in the spring - neither project will interfere the
Skara Brae visitor experience.
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