Julie Gibson, Orkney’s county archaeologist and UHI Archaeology Institute lecturer, features on tonight’s BBC1 Scotland programme Disclosure: how you can stop climate change at 7.30pm.
Julie will be considering the impact of coastal erosion on the future of the Neolithic settlement of Skara Brae in Orkney.
That photograph is strongly illustrative of the situation. If it wasn’t for the sea-wall, the same would have happened to Skara Brae.
The sea will keep on eating away on either side of the protected area, leaving it even more vulnerable.
A further example, is the fate of the sit-ootery in this piece……..
https://theorkneynews.scot/2020/07/16/skaill-bay-12th-july-2020/
What’s to be done? It’s very hard to assess, as a fact of life is – ‘As Man proposes – Nature disposes.’
There are types of concrete that will withstand 1000 years of waves pummelling it, if anyone there cared to research it. It requires volcanic ash as one of the components. I’ve written before about it but I can’t exactly drop by and suggest it.
If you just want to wring your hands and clutch your pearls and cry about it, nothing will be saved. You need to take action, and consider thinking about what’s right in front of you instead of approaching it from a climate change perspective. Do what you can do in your own lifetime. Make condrete block embankments to keep any more of the coastline from washing away the heritage sites while you still have time to save them.