otherwise would have been destroyed. These include a twisted skein of Heather, one of a very few known examples of Neolithic rope, and a wooden handle. Related sites in Orkney A comparable, though smaller, site exists at Rinyo on Rousay. Unusually, no Maeshowe-type tombs have been found on Rousay and although there are a large number of Orkney–Cromarty chambered cairns, these were built by Unstan ware people. Knap of Howar, on the Orkney island of Papa Westray, is a well-preserved Neolithic farmstead. Dating from 3500 BC to 3100 BC, it is similar in design to Skara Brae, but from an earlier period, and it is thought to be the oldest preserved standing building in northern Europe. There is also a site currently under excavation at Links of Noltland on Westray that appears to have similarities to Skara Brae. World Heritage status "The Heart of Neolithic Orkney" was inscribed as a World Heritage site in December 1999. In addition to Skara Brae the site includes Maeshowe, the Ring of Brodgar, the Standing Stones of Stenness and other nearby sites. It is managed by Historic Environment Scotland, whose "Statement of Significance" for the site begins: Risk from climate change In 2019, a risk assessment was performed to assess the site's vulnerability to climate change. The report by Historic Environment Scotland, the Orkney Islands Council and others concludes that the entire Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, and in particular Skara Brae, is "extremely vulnerable" to climate change due to rising sea levels, increased rainfall and other factors; it also highlights the risk that Skara Brae could be partially destroyed by one unusually severe storm. In popular culture The 1968 children's novel The Boy with the Bronze Axe by Kathleen Fidler is set during the last days of Skara Brae. This theme is also adopted by Rosemary Sutcliff in her 1977 novel Shifting Sands, in which the evacuation of the site is portrayed as unhurried, with most of the inhabitants surviving. The Irish Celtic folk group Skara Brae took their name from the settlement. Active between 1970 and 1971, their only album Skara Brae was released in 1971, and reissued on CD in 1998. A stone was unveiled in Skara Brae on 12 April 2008 marking the anniversary of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becoming the first man to orbit the Earth in 1961. The video game The Bard's Tale takes place in