Neptune's Needle

Archipelago of 70 islands in North Sea between Scotland and the still further north Shetland Islands in the North Sea.(area; 376 sq miles; 1991 pop. 19,650). North of the Highland region across the Pentland Firth; 59º00'N 03º00'W. About 20 isls. are inhabited. Mainland (Pomona), the largest, has Kirkwall, the co. town, and Stromness. The climate is mild, windy, and wet. Beef cattle, sheep, and pigs are raised. Some fishing, mainly for lobster, is carried on in Scapa Flow and in the N. The discovery of North Sea oil in the early 1970s provided employment for many of Orkney’s inhabitants.

Orkney was settled by Picts. There were Viking invasions in the 8th cent. From 875 to 1231 it was a Viking earldom under the Norwegian crown. In 1231, Orkney passed to the Scottish earls of Angus on the death of the last Viking earl. It became a possession of the Scottish crown in 1472 in trust for the undelivered dowry of Margaret of Norway on her marriage to James III (1469), but the long Norse occupation left marked Scandinavian traces in the people and their culture. James V visited Kirkwall in 1540 and made Orkney a co. Orkney has many prehistoric relics. Stone Age villages have been unearthed at Skara Brae on Mainland and a broch (prehistoric fort) at Rinyo on Rousay. Other relics are the burial chambers at Maeshowe and the standing stones at Stenness

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Peter Richards