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
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.
Aerial shots from Day Thirty-Four
A selection of drone shots from yesterday from Professor Scott Pike.… Read more
Farewell Bryn . . . you will be missed by all
We are very sad to announce, after battling a long illness, the passing away of Bryn, the director’s site dog and the real director of the Ness.
He will be missed by us all, and by all… Read more
Dig Diary – Thursday, August 15, 2019
Day Thirty-Four
Paperwork, plans and finds
With just days to go until the 2019 excavation draws to a close, the site was abuzz with activity today.
Needless to say, with… Read more
Decorated stone covered today’s animal bone deposit
As mentioned in today’s dig diary, Bruce lifted a flagstone beside one of the standing stones flanking the entrance to Structure Twelve to reveal a large spread of animal bone.… Read more
More images of today’s incised stone
Four more photographs of the incised stone found in the cell outside Structure Twelve’s eastern entrance today.
Click on any image for a larger version.
… Read more
An aquatic attraction at the Ness
For a few days now this little character has been spotted regularly from the excavation site, swimming around the banks of the Harray loch.
The otter seems to be as… Read more
Dig Diary – Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Day Thirty-Three
‘Compulsive building, re-building, alteration and improvement’
After the massive cleaning exercise for yesterday’s photo sessions, the Ness is looking magnificent today in the sunshine.
The buildings are sharply… Read more
Time is running out for free tours of the Ness dig
With the 2019 drawing to a close next Friday, August 23, 2019, there’s not much time left if you want to take advantage of our free site tours.
The last… Read more
Some of the fruits of our labours…
Cleaning Trench P from top to bottom was completed today and the photography sessions began in earnest.
Here are some of the images from Professor Scott Pike. Click on any… Read more
Dig Diary – Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Day Thirty-Two
More cleaning and photography
Not much to report today – cleaning continued in Trench P in preparation for this afternoon’s marathon photography session. And when complete the buildings… Read more
Trench P from above – preview shots
For the first time in years, all of Trench P has been completely uncovered and cleaned thoroughly ahead of overhead photography tomorrow.
The cleaning work will be finished tomorrow morning… Read more
Dig Diary – Monday, August 12, 2019
Day Thirty-One
Clean-up operation in Trench P
It’s been an incredibly busy day on site, with the efforts of all remaining 60 plus diggers diverted to a massive clean-up of… Read more
Volunteers needed to help cover the site
It’s that time again.
With just eight days left of the 2019 excavation, we’re looking for some hardy volunteers to help us cover the site.
By next Wednesday, August 21,… Read more
Dig Diary – Friday, August 9, 2019
Day Thirty
Wind, puzzling structures and a Neolithic bull!
To be honest today has been a bit of a struggle.
The day started grey and windy and became very windy… Read more
Neolithic bull putting in appearance at County Show
Just how big were the cattle consumed at the Ness of Brodgar in prehistory?
Drop by the County Show, in Kirkwall, tomorrow, Saturday and you’ll be able to see for… Read more
Drone images – Structures One, Twenty-Seven and Trench T
As we mentioned earlier, Professor Scott Pike launched his drone for record shots of Trench T as well as Structure One.
Here are a few of the day’s photographs. Click… Read more
Day Twenty-Nine in pictures…
A few photographs from today by Jo Bourne and Sigurd Towrie.
Click the images for larger versions.… Read more
Incised flagstone – more pictures
The light this morning was slightly better than yesterday, so here’s a few more pictures of easily reached sections of the incised flagstone found in the cell outside Structure Twelve’s… Read more
Dig Diary – Thursday, August 8, 2019
Day Twenty-Nine
More ‘cupmarks’ and a momentous occasion
We reached a momentous landmark today!
As we near the end of our 12th year of major excavation, our 40,000th small find… Read more
Site closed and no tours on Saturday
On Saturday, August 10, members of the Ness excavation team will be manning a stall at the County Show in Kirkwall (more details later this week).
Because of this the excavation site… Read more
