Focus on finds – pumice
Pumice, a by-product of volcanic eruptions, played a significant role in Neolithic life, often used for its abrasive qualities. Read more
Monthly Archive: July 2020
Awe and wonder in an age of reason – taking visitors to the Ness of Brodgar excavations
By Peter Yeoman
The greatest thing about a visit to the Ness is that it peoples the landscape of deep time, in a way that other prehistoric sites on Orkney… Read more
Threshold disappointment and a new rock art design revealed
Diary – Friday, July 17, 2020
Day Ten
It was day two on this day in 2012 and although the uncovering process had gone remarkably quickly, site housework – cleaning,… Read more
From the Art Hut – How and why the Ness and the Neolithic are in my paintings
By Jeanne Bouza Rose
I was leaving the heat of New York State and coming to Orkney for my summer holidays sometime in the early 2000s, having been drawn into… Read more
Decorated ‘dotted’ stone was a first for the Ness
Diary – Thursday, July 16, 2020
Day Nine
There was a new look to the site when the excavation team turned up on Monday, July 16, 2012. The spoil heaps… Read more
The trouble with Cuween: human remains from Neolithic Orkney
Do we have evidence of ritualised violence at Cuween? A video lecture from Dr Rebecca Crozier, well-known in Orkney for her work at the Quanterness Chambered Cairn, released as… Read more
From the Art Hut – the permanence of pigments
By Karen Wallis
On July 17, 2018, I made this oil painting of Marc excavating a hearth in Structure One.
The colour of the deposits was extremely rich and varied.… Read more
A spectacular incised slab – the first of many in 2019
Diary – Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Day Eight
As mentioned yesterday, we’re now reaching the point where the pre-2015, six-week excavations on site start getting under way.
In 2014, it… Read more
Wednesday wildlife – week thirteen
Another selection of photographs from the camera of dig director Nick Card.
Click on any image for a larger version.… Read more
A remarkable pottery sherd…
Diary – Tuesday, July 14, 2020Day Seven
2014: The last of the stones holding down the protective covers are removed from Structure Twelve. (📷 ORCA)
Six years ago today, the… Read more
A natural cursus? Water, walls and walking the Ness
Previously we saw that the Dyke of Sean was perhaps once one of three — or possibly four — walls that ran the width of the Ness of Brodgar in the Neolithic. Did these define specific areas – dividing the isthmus into distinct segments of “graded” space – and controlled movement and visibility through them? Read more
Hints there’s something beyond Structure Twelve’s entrance…
Diary – Monday, July 13, 2020
Day Six
We’re back for week two and looking out the window of “diary central” this morning I have some sympathy… Read more
The art of archaeological planning
Cecily planning Structure Seven way back in 2007. (📷 ORCA)
Alice planning in the Central Midden Area. (📷 ORCA)
Visit the Ness site at any time during an excavation season… Read more
3D model sales give excavation funds a welcome boost
Our excavation fund received a major boost this week with the donation of profits from the sale of Ness of Brodgar 3D models.
The framed models, sold by Mark Newton,… Read more
Seaweed, a standing stone and the ‘corner of loveliness’ revealed
Dig Diary – Friday, July 10, 2020
Day Five
Here we are at the end of what would have been the first week of the 2020 excavation… Read more
Diary – Thursday, July 9, 2020
Day Four
Sorry folks but once again I start this diary with the weather.
But in 2015 it was foul, meaning much of Thursday, July 9, 2015, was taken up… Read more
From the Art Hut – looking back…
By Karen Wallis
On July 5, 2018, I paid my first visit to Trench Y.
Mike Copper and his team were searching for the enclosure wall beside the Stenness loch.… Read more
Diary – Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Day Three
This day, five years ago, will long be remembered as a historical milestone in the history of the Ness of Brodgar excavation.
It wasn’t because of any astonishing… Read more
Diary extra – a summertime wander around the Ring of Brodgar
With some work to do at Ness dig HQ, Sigurd decided to take a wander around the Ring of Brodgar first. Read more
