About
The Orkney Museum in Kirkwall is the principal museum for the Orkney Islands, housed in the magnificent Tankerness House, a 16th-century merchant's townhouse on Broad Street in the heart of the island capital. The museum tells the extraordinary story of over 5,000 years of human habitation on these windswept islands at the northern tip of Scotland, from the Neolithic farmers who built Skara Brae and the Ring of Brodgar through the Pictish, Viking, and Norse periods to modern Orkney life.
The collections are remarkable for an island museum, reflecting Orkney's unique position at the crossroads of North Sea and Atlantic maritime routes. Neolithic artefacts include carved stone objects, pottery, and tools from some of Europe's most important prehistoric sites. Pictish carved stones display the mysterious symbols and intricate interlace patterns that are among the finest examples of Dark Age art in Scotland. The Viking and Norse period is richly represented, reflecting the centuries when Orkney was part of the Norse world, with grave goods, runic inscriptions, jewellery, and everyday objects that illuminate life in a thriving Norse earldom.
Tankerness House itself is a significant historic building, one of the finest surviving 16th-century townhouses in Scotland. Originally built for the Baikie family of Tankerness, the house features traditional Orkney architectural details including crowstepped gables, flagstone floors, and a beautiful enclosed garden that provides a sheltered retreat in this often blustery northern landscape. The building's domestic rooms have been adapted to display collections while retaining their historic character.
The museum's coverage extends to more recent history including the dramatic impact of both World Wars on Orkney, particularly the extraordinary story of the Scapa Flow naval base where the British Grand Fleet was anchored during World War I and where the German High Seas Fleet was famously scuttled in 1919. World War II displays cover the Italian Chapel, the Churchill Barriers, and Orkney's continued strategic importance. Galleries dedicated to traditional Orkney life explore farming, fishing, domestic crafts, and the island culture that has produced a remarkable literary and artistic tradition. The Orkney Museum provides an essential introduction to these extraordinary islands where history stretches back to the very beginnings of farming in northern Europe.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
📅 Best Times to Visit
Quietest: Monday, Tuesday, Friday
Busiest: Wednesday, Thursday
💡 Weekday mornings in shoulder season (May or September) for the best balance of accessibility and quiet visiting conditions
💡 Visitor Tips
- The Orkney Museum is free and makes an ideal first stop when arriving in Kirkwall, providing context for all the historic sites you may visit across the islands.
- Don't miss the Pictish carved stones - they represent some of the finest early medieval art in Scotland and are among the museum's most treasured objects.
- The enclosed garden behind the museum is a hidden gem, especially welcome on a rare calm day in Orkney. Perfect for a quiet moment between gallery visits.
- Combine your museum visit with St Magnus Cathedral (2 minutes' walk) and the Bishop's and Earl's Palaces for a complete exploration of medieval Kirkwall.
- If you're visiting Orkney's Neolithic sites (Skara Brae, Maeshowe, Ring of Brodgar), see the museum first to understand the artefacts found at those locations.
- Allow at least 90 minutes for a thorough visit. The galleries cover 5,000 years of history and reward careful exploration.
- The museum shop stocks excellent books on Orkney history, archaeology, and culture, as well as locally made crafts and souvenirs.
- Orkney weather is famously changeable - the museum is an excellent indoor activity when the wind and rain arrive, as they inevitably do.
Highlights
Neolithic Orkney Collection
Artefacts from some of Europe's most important Neolithic sites, representing Orkney's extraordinary prehistoric heritage. The collection includes carved stone objects, Grooved Ware pottery, stone tools, and bone implements recovered from excavations at sites including Skara Brae, the Knap of Howar, the Ness of Brodgar, and chambered tombs across the islands.
These objects illuminate the sophisticated culture of Orkney's first farming communities, who arrived around 3500 BCE and created a monumental landscape of tombs, stone circles, and settlements that earned UNESCO World Heritage status.
Particularly significant are the decorated stone objects whose carved motifs suggest complex symbolic and ritual practices. The collection places Orkney firmly at the centre of Neolithic Britain, challenging the traditional view that culture flowed from south to north.
Pictish Carved Stones
A collection of Pictish carved stones representing some of the finest examples of Early Medieval art found in Scotland. The stones display the enigmatic Pictish symbols, animal figures, interlace patterns, and Christian crosses that were carved between approximately the 6th and 9th centuries CE. Orkney's Pictish heritage reflects the islands' position within the northern Pictish kingdom before the arrival of the Norse.
The carved stones demonstrate remarkable artistic sophistication, combining indigenous Pictish traditions with influences from Irish, Anglo-Saxon, and continental European art. Key pieces include cross-slabs featuring hunting scenes, fantastical beasts, and the mysterious symbols whose precise meaning continues to be debated by scholars.
These stones are among the most visually striking and historically significant objects in the museum.
Viking and Norse Orkney
Extensive displays covering the centuries when Orkney was part of the Norse world, from the Viking arrival around 800 CE to the transfer of the islands to Scotland in 1468. The collection includes grave goods from Norse burials featuring brooches, weapons, tools, and personal ornaments that reveal the material culture of Orkney's Norse settlers.
Runic inscriptions, including those found at Maeshowe where Viking visitors carved graffiti on the Neolithic tomb's walls, provide direct voices from the Norse period.
Gaming pieces, combs, spindle whorls, and domestic utensils illustrate everyday life in a prosperous Norse earldom. The displays explain how Orkney became the seat of powerful Norse earls whose saga, the Orkneyinga Saga, is one of the great narratives of the Viking Age.
Tankerness House Building
The museum building itself is one of Kirkwall's finest historic structures, a 16th-century merchant's townhouse built for the Baikie family of Tankerness.
The house features traditional Orkney architectural details including crowstepped gables, flagstone floors, massive fireplaces, and thick stone walls designed to withstand Orkney's fierce winds. The building's domestic rooms have been adapted for museum use while retaining much of their historic character, creating an intimate atmosphere quite different from purpose-built gallery spaces.
The enclosed garden behind the house, sheltered by high walls, provides a peaceful retreat with flagstone paths, plants suited to Orkney's climate, and seating areas. The building's history as a prosperous merchant's home provides context for understanding Kirkwall's importance as a trading port.
Collections
The Orkney Museum holds the principal archaeological, historical, and ethnographic collections for the Orkney Islands, spanning over 5,000 years from the Neolithic period to the 20th century. Archaeological holdings include Neolithic carved stones, pottery, and tools from internationally significant sites; Pictish carved stones and symbol stones; and Viking and Norse grave goods, runic inscriptions, and domestic objects.
Social history collections cover traditional Orkney farming, fishing, domestic life, and crafts.
Wartime collections relate to Scapa Flow and Orkney's strategic importance in both World Wars. The museum also holds photographic archives, maps, and documentary collections relating to Orkney history and culture.
Collectively, the collections provide an unmatched resource for understanding the human story of these remarkable northern islands.
Prehistoric Orkney
Neolithic and Bronze Age artefacts from Orkney's world-famous prehistoric sites including Skara Brae, Maeshowe, and the Ring of Brodgar. Carved stones, pottery, and tools from some of Europe's most important ancient sites.
📍 Prehistoric Gallery
Picts and Vikings
Pictish carved stones and Norse artefacts charting Orkney's transition from a Pictish to a Norse territory. Viking grave goods, runic inscriptions, and objects from the age of the Norse Earls of Orkney.
📍 Pictish and Norse Galleries
Orkney at War
The impact of World War I and II on Orkney, centred on the strategic naval base at Scapa Flow. The scuttling of the German fleet, the sinking of HMS Royal Oak, Italian Chapel, and Churchill Barriers.
📍 War Gallery
Island Life
Traditional Orkney farming, fishing, crafts, and domestic life through objects, photographs, and personal stories spanning several centuries of island culture and community.
📍 Social History Gallery
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.