IT IS one of the world's most famous Neolithic sites, one of the best preserved signs of how our ancestors lived thousands of years ago.

But a new book, written by the former head of Glasgow's museums and galleries, claims that the prevailing view of Skara Brae, that it is the remains of a neolithic village, is wide of the mark - he believes it was a "sacred sauna".

Julian Spalding, in his new book Realisation: From Seeing to Understanding, said that the Orcadian site was not a place of accommodation for ancient peoples.

He believes that the houses, made from closely fitting flat stone slabs, set in large mounds of midden, were in fact rooms where families went to honour the spirits of their ancestors whilst experiencing the severe heat created by hot stones laid in water troughs.

The art critic, writer and curator compares the site to other stone sties in Turkey - Gobkeli Tepe - and the island of Gozo - Ggantija.

He said the buildings would have been for the culture, which is believed to have had no writing, a "temple of storytelling."

Spalding writes: "Skara Brae makes much more sense as a community sauna - a place for telling stories about spirit ancestors through the long winters - than it does as a village, providing everyday accommodation.

"In those early instances stone appears to have been cut for eternal uses, not for the fleeting present."

Spalding said that the hearths in the rooms of Skara Brae, and the small tanks set in the floors were equipment for the sauna, and he said he thought the local population lived in more temporary accommodation.

He added: "I think it was a sauna, because it is stone built, and because it just doesn't look like a village to me - the people were not midgets.

"People in the so called 'stone age' really did not cut into stone, they only cut into it if it was for eternity.

"They would have lived in mud or turf and hide huts and places like Skara Brae would have been for the spirits of the dead to return to.

"I am not an expert on Skara Brae but this [theory] comes out of travelling the world and thinking about things.

"I think it was a cluster of sacred sauna for different families - and that is why they are all huddled together."

Skara Bare, near the Bay of Skaill, was uncovered by a storm in 1850 and has presented a wealth of information about life around 5000 years ago.

Each house comprised a single room with a floor space of roughly 40sq m.

The 'fitted' stone furniture within each room comprised a 'dresser', where prized objects may have been stored and displayed, two box-beds, a hearth centrally placed and small tanks set into the floor.

An rich array of artefacts and natural remains has been discovered during various archaeological excavations. They include gaming dice, tools, pottery and jewellery (necklaces, beads, pendants and pins).

Richly carved stone objects, perhaps used in religious rituals, were also found.

Mr Spalding will talk about his new book at Glasgow's book festival, Aye Write, at 1.30pm today at the city's Mitchell Library.

Tom Muir, the Exhibitions Officer for Orkney Islands Council, and a noted expert on the islands, said Mr Spalding's ideas were interesting but that it was more likely the buildings were homes.

Mr Muir said: "It is always good to discuss these things because it is through ideas that archaeology moves forward.

"It is not a ridiculous notion, but from the similarities to other sites, that does support the idea that this was a village.

"I also wonder if the rooms are too large to be saunas, and the tanks in the floor too small to generate steam.

"Skara Brae does not exist in isolation, there are other sites such as Barnhouse Settlement although Skara Brae is different in that it is recessed into deposits." The site was abandoned in 2500 BC.