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Dry stone walling dates back to the Iron Age. In the village of Skara Brae in the Orkneys, there are 3,600 yearold dry stone buildings still standing with builtin dry stone furniture. The earliest stone walls were often made with large unsorted boulders, moved to clear fields. Built in a crude style, these walls often change direction to take in boulders or avoid streams. They reflect contemporary systems of agriculture - medieval walls show the open field methods practised at the time while later the gradual enclosure of common land into private holdings or crofts, created a patchwork of small irregularshaped fields. These walls often march for miles up and down hills and cross impossibly steep slopes, seen most dramatically in the Lake District. The gradual loss of skilled dry stone wallers is a real problem. Since the mid 19th Century there has been little need for new wall building, only repairs and realignment. As a result there are fewer fulltime craftsmen. But recent interest in traditional countryside crafts has led to opportunities for volunteers to learn the skills of dry stone walling on training courses or working holidays. The number of professional wallers has also increased. The Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain lists professional wallers on its website www.dswa.org.uk.
Regional variations have developed over the centuries, influenced by the local stone and terrain. It is important to retain the character of these walls which are preferred by different species. >
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