Coloured pottery at the Ness – new paper published
Over the last few seasons we have discovered many sherds of pottery that exhibit colour. The Ness is one of the very few sites in the UK where this has… Read more
The Ness of Brodgar complex
Discovered in 2003, the Ness of Brodgar site has been under excavation since 2004, revealing a massive complex of monumental Neolithic buildings dating from the centuries around 3000BC.
Without parallel in Atlantic Europe, the Ness of Brodgar’s three hectares are filled with huge stone structures containing spectacular finds.
These have made the Ness one of the most important archaeological excavations in the world today, changing our understanding of the culture and beliefs of Neolithic Orkney and shining a new light on the prehistory of northern Europe.
The project is mainly funded through the generosity of the public through our two supporting charities, the Ness of Brodgar Trust and the American Friends.
2020 excavation – volunteer spaces full
Since before we starting digging this year, our inbox has been positively bursting at the seams with emails from people looking to volunteer for the 2020 excavation season.
Although we’ve… Read more
Ness success acknowledged in Scottish Parliament
The Ness of Brodgar has been congratulated in the Scottish Parliament for its success in the 2019 Shanghai Archaeology Forum Field Discovery Awards.
The motion (detailed below) was tabled by… Read more
Another sherd of coloured pottery
While Roy Towers our ceramics expert was studying some pot from the later phases of Structure Twelve, he came across another rather fine example of coloured pottery.
This body sherd… Read more
Shanghai award for the Ness of Brodgar
The Ness of Brodgar has been selected for a 2019 Shanghai Archaeology Forum Field Discovery Award.
Having heard we had been nominated a few weeks ago, we have just learnt… Read more
Ness nominated for Shanghai Archaeology Forum award
The Ness of Brodgar has been nominated both by Professor Eszter Bánffy of the German Archaeological Institute, and Dr Michael Boyd of the University of Cambridge for the prestigious 2019… Read more
Link – Archaeology Scotland’s visit to the Ness
Archaeology Scotland had the opportunity to visit the Ness during this summer’s eight-week excavation season.
Click here to read their report.… Read more
Library talk to launch new book on Neolithic Orkney
Professor Mark Edmonds will launch his new book, Orcadia – Land, Sea and Stone in Neolithic Orkney, at an open event in the Stromness Library on Monday evening, October 14.… Read more
Orcadia – weaving an evocative picture of Neolithic Orkney
A must buy for anyone interested in the Neolithic of Orkney and its wonderful sites, is the brilliant new book Orcadia – Land, Sea and Stone in Neolithic Orkney by… Read more
Article link – Summer of finds at the Ness of Brodgar
A link to today’s Current Archaeology’s article on this summer’s excavation: https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/summer-of-finds-at-the-ness-of-brodgar.htm… Read more
A very special visitor to the Ness…
The Ness was very pleased today to welcome a special guest to site – well in fact two – Morph and his creator Peter Lord and his family.
Peter is… Read more
Microliths add to evidence of Mesolithic activity on the Ness
The tiny crescent microlith recovered at the Ness. (Hugo Anderson-Whymark)
Three tiny flint tools are the latest evidence of Mesolithic activity on the Ness of Brodgar peninsula.
Previous finds of… Read more
From the Art Hut
This year the Art Hut hosted four artists: Jeanne Bouza Rose, Diane Eagles, Karen Wallis, and Annie Wright.
For the first four weeks of the excavation, Annie Wright took photos… Read more
Trench J in all its 3D glory…
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Trench J, and with it Structures Five and Thirty-Two and the “Great Wall of Brodgar”, may have been covered… Read more
A day of sandbags, tarps and tyres…
It’s been a long, hard day of manual labour in some not-so-pleasant weather conditions, but we’ve covered over around 90 percent of the site.
Aided by volunteers from the public… Read more
Dig Diary – Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Day Thirty-Eight
Physical traces of a Neolithic potter?
This, dear readers, is our last diary of the 2019 excavation season at the Ness.
You will have realised that there are… Read more
Dig Diary – Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Day Thirty-SevenHuman bone and a standing stone…
Andy Boyar excavating the human ulna within Structure Ten this afternoon. (📷 Ole Thoenies)
Andy excavating the fragile human arm bone in Structure… Read more
…and another potential standing stone
And with two days to go, it seems we might have yet another standing stone in Trench P.
More details to follow…… Read more
Second human arm bone found inside Structure Ten
A very interesting day in Structure Ten today, where a second human arm bone was found in association with the south-western buttress inside the building.
We’re writing today’s blog post… Read more
Dig Diary – Monday, August 19, 2019
Day Thirty-Six
Last week syndrome…
There is such a thing in Orcadian archaeology as “last week syndrome” when, as everything winds down towards the end of the excavation, something interesting… Read more
Dig Diary – Sunday, August 18, 2019
Day Thirty-Five
Sunshine and crowds at the Ness
Our second and final ‘Special Sunday’ open day of the season took place today, with over 1,000 visitors recorded at the excavation… Read more
Day Thirty-Four in pictures . . .
A selection of pictures from across the site from Jo and Sigurd.
Click on the images for larger versions.… Read more
