Skara Brae Buddo
Skara Brae Buddo is an approximately 5000 year old Neolithic figure of Skara Brae on Orkney in Scotland . Previously believed to be lost, it was rediscovered in the collections of the Stromness Museum in 2016 .
The figure, carved from a piece of whalebone , is 9.5 cm high and 7.5 cm wide. The eyes, mouth and navel are deeply incised. Otherwise, the figure with the barely detached head is unadorned. It was discovered in the 1860s by the landlord William G. Watt in the excavation of the stone alkoven in house 3 of the Neolithic village of Skara Brae.
Watt's find was described as an " idol " or "fetish" in an 1867 account of the discovery of Skara Brae in the literary estate of antiquarian George Petrie , but only known from a sketch in Petrie's notebook , now in the manuscripts of the Scottish Antiquarian Society is included.
Prehistoric depictions of humans are extremely rare in Great Britain. The largely forgotten Neolithic figure was the first example. It can be compared to figures ( Westray Wife ) discovered during excavations in the Neolithic settlement Links of Noltland on Westray Island .
The figure is shown in the Stromness Museum alongside other artifacts from Skara Brae.