Introducing ceramics 8 – the dimpled-base experiments
Dimple bases are basal sherds, with finger-impressed dimples on the interior surface, found on Early and Middle Iron Age sites right around the Atlantic coast. Read more
Monthly Archive: August 2020
Geology matters 1 – why rock?
By Dr Martha Johnson
A small selection of polished stone artefacts found at the Ness of Brodgar. (📷 Hugo Anderson-Whymark)
Archaeology concerns itself with the study of past people and… Read more
Wednesday wildlife – swanning around…
The swans of the Stenness and Harray lochs feature in dig director Nick Card’s weekly showcase of the fauna around the Ness of Brodgar excavation site.… Read more
A ‘Neolithical Mystery Tour’ of Orkney
National Geographic photojournalist Jim Richardson has published a “storymap” of Neolithic Orkney, giving readers a glimpse into life 5,000 years ago.
The storymap – described by Jim as a “marriage… Read more
Introducing ceramics 7 – colour
Coloured pot reconstructions. (📷 Cecily Webster)
By Roy Towers
One of the joys of working with ceramics within the UHI Archaeological Institute in Orkney is the opportunity to collaborate with… Read more
Introducing ceramics 6 – sticking cordons
At Structure Twelve, sometime in the decades around c. 2300 cal BC, a potter lost his temper. Fed up with their cordons falling off, they adopted a radical solution. Read more
Wednesday wildlife – week seventeen
This week’s selection of photographs from the camera of dig director Nick Card.… Read more
Introducing ceramics 5 – firing
So, our Neolithic Grooved Ware is formed, dried, decorated and ready for the all-important firing. What comes next? Read more
Win a carved stone ball…
Our virtual dig season for 2020 may be over, but now we’ve got our sights firmly set on 2021.
The closure of the site this summer has, as expected, had… Read more
From the Art Hut – connecting…
By Diane Eagles
Owing to the dig being cancelled this year because of Covid restrictions, I moved my residency to daily Instagram posts.
I had been working on ideas for… Read more
A sad anniversary…
A year ago today we said a very sad farewell to one of the trusted, popular and loyal members of the Ness team – site director Nick’s dog Bryn, who… Read more
The Ness – a place of compulsive building, rebuilding and alteration
Diary – Friday, August 14, 2020
Day Thirty
The weather saw excavation on this day in 2012 cancelled. Torrential rain lashed the site for much of the day, leaving… Read more
Introducing ceramics 4 – why the changes?
The hunt is on for clues, for any evidence of change through time. If you are a historian that can come in a dusty library as you leaf through old documents. Read more
Structure Eight – the mystery of the elusive entrance solved!
Diary – Thursday, August 13, 2020
Day Twenty-Nine
We begin today with another pillow stone – this time from Structure Fourteen in 2013.
The beautifully polished… Read more
From the Art Hut – in it for the long haul
By Karen Wallis
As this is my last blog for the virtual dig diary, I’m going to take a look back over the whole of my residency to date.
The… Read more
Standing stones appear outside Structure Twelve
Diary – Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Day Twenty-Seven
It was all go on in Structure Ten on this day in 2011.
Further excavation of the central hearth revealed it to… Read more
A master of his art – Jim Richardson photographs from around the Ness
Jim Richardson visiting the Ness in 2019. (📷 Jo Bourne)
In 2012, Jim Richardson visited the Ness to capture images for a planned National Geographic feature article.
The resultant images… Read more
Structure Eight’s second polished ‘pillow stone’
2011: Sarah reveals that the hearth in Structure Ten, despite suffering from subsidence, was indeed complete. (📷 ORCA)
Diary – Tuesday, August 12, 2020Day Twenty-Seven
The size and grandeur of… Read more
Reconstruction drawing – man explaining Structure Twelve leaks
Structure Twelve, having structural issues and likely roof leaks, is discussed. Read more
More cupmarked, dressed and painted stone
Diary – Monday, August 10, 2020
Day Twenty-Six
The 2011 investigation of the area around the presumed entrance to Structure Ten struck gold today – wall lines!
These, however, were… Read more
Focus on finds – beads
The Ness site has unearthed a selection of stone and amber beads, showing high-quality craftsmanship. Read more
Reduced Ness team head east for Bronze Age fieldwalk
Diggers and Finds Team volunteers come from far and wide to excavate the Ness of Brodgar but there is also a core of folk in Orkney who give their summers… Read more
