THE stone-built neolithic village of Skara Brae on Orkney is to feature in a set of eight new stamps being released today at 7,000 Post Office branches.
The world heritage site is part of a new Royal Mail release focusing on some of the most inspiring objects and atmospheric sites of prehistoric Britain.
Philip Parker, stamp strategy manager at the Royal Mail, said: “The UK has an incredibly rich heritage of prehistoric sites and exceptional artefacts.
“These new stamps explore some of these treasures and give us a glimpse of everyday life in prehistoric Great Britain and Northern Ireland, from the culture of ancient ritual and music making to sophisticated metalworking and the building of huge hill forts.”
As well as Skara Brae, the stamps feature the Drumbest horns in Northern Ireland; the Battersea Shield, which was found in the River Thames, London; the Star Carr headdress unearthed in North Yorkshire; the Grime’s Graves flint mine in Norfolk; the Avebury stone circles in Wiltshire; the Mold Cape found in Wales; and Maiden Castle hill fort in Dorchester.
Illustrated by London-based artist Rebecca Strickson, the stamps have been designed as overlay illustrations, showing how people lived at the sites or used the objects.
The stamps present a timeline from an ancient ritual of 11,000 years ago, to the Iron Age of around 300BC.
For each of the stamps, Royal Mail will provide a special postmark on all mail posted in a postbox close to the site or where the artefact was found. For Skara Brae, collectors and the public should post their mail at the postbox at the former Post Office in Sandwick, Orkney, between now and Saturday for the special hand stamp.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here