The arrival of autumn in Orkney has brought with it a surprisingly pleasant spell of weather. But despite the clement conditions, the wildlife around the Ness is beginning to quieten… Read more
Just outside Stenness village, and opposite the Standing Stones Hotel, is a large oval mound. The tumulus was given scheduled monument status in 2002 and assigned the name “Little Barnhouse”. Read more
It’s Wednesday again, so time for some more photographs from around the Ness by site director Nick Card.
A reminder that Nick’s pics now feature, along with National Geographic photographer… Read more
This week’s ornithological offering from site director Nick Card.
Fans of Nick’s photography will be delighted to learn that a selection of his pictures feature in two new fundraising card… Read more
By Jeanne Bouza Rose
For me, the mystery of the Ness is the story of what the people were doing there.
During all the years I worked at the dig… Read more
By Dr Martha Johnson
Camptonite adze recovered from Trench J in 2018. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)
Certain rocks have always been collected on archaeological sites – stone tools and implements that… Read more
On April 23, 2020, we appealed for financial help to allow the Ness to continue. That appeal stands.
We received donations, for which we are eternally grateful, and also a… Read more
The last part of our series is rooted in ceramics research but leads down a twisting, and surprising path. We travel from the Bronze Age to Victorian times, meeting along the way an archaeological villain, a naval tragedy, a world-beating iron bridge and a careful and underrated antiquarian. Read more
In this talk for the 2020 Orkney Science Festival, Professor Mark Edmonds considers some of the stone artefacts from the Ness – including our carved stone… Read more
In this talk for the 2020 Orkney Science Festival, site director Nick Card outlines the scientific techniques involved in excavation and post-excavation work and is joined… Read more
By Dr Martha Johnson
The geology of Orkney. (📷 British Geological Survey)
The majority of Orkney’s rocks are sedimentary, specifically clastic sedimentary rocks. These are formed from the compression of… Read more