Dig Diary – Drones, bones and the latest on our Neolithic wooden plank

Thursday, August 10, 2023

The Ness team gather for a group picture. (📷 Scott Pike)

Day Twenty-Nine
Thursday, August 10, 2023

Today was photography day, so it began with yet more cleaning – sprucing up the last sections of the site ready for Scott and his drone.

The photographic session not only included aerial shots across the entire site but capturing the images for our final orthomosaic trench photos. Then there were the multiple images required by Paul for the creation of the site 3d models.

Naturally, we want the site to look its best.

So the cleaning, and the photography itself, took up most of the day – hampered slightly by the contrasty conditions caused bright sunshine (yes. I know we’re never happy!). The picture-taking ended with the entire team gathering in Trench P for the group photograph above!

We’ll bring you the rest of the site photographs in due course.

The images captured, Scott then sent his LiDAR drone across the site and we’re looking forward to the results of that. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) uses laser light to measure distances and create detailed maps of an environment.

When we were allowed back in the trenches, we did get down to some excavation today…

Over in Trench T, Elena has done a fantastic job defining the timber plank in Structure Twenty-Seven (see today’s diary extra for a 3d model).

It is now in the best state it can be ready for the operation to lift it tomorrow.

Finds supervisor Anne joins Elena and Rick in Structure Twenty-Seven to discuss a strategy for recovering the wooden plank. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

Cleaned, defined and ready to lift. The Trench T timber. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

The wooden plank from a different angle. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

While Trench J waited for its photography session, some of the team relocated to Structure Thirty – the building to the south-east of Structure Twelve and which is slightly later.

The goal is to try and expose the building’s wallhead to help make sense of its construction and original form.

At the end of play today, the inner wall remained elusive, but we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

The 'Ness to Ness' delegates with site director Nick this morning. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

Some of the art and archaeology workshop members with Chris Gee (left). (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

We were visited today by Dr Antonia Thomas, who is not only our Neolithic art specialist but leads the UHI Archaeology Institute’s Contemporary Art and Archaeology masters degree.

Antonia was joined by participants in the four-day Ness to Ness art and archaeology workshop. After a special tour led by site director Nick, Chris Gee was on hand for a demonstration of Neolithic art-making techniques, materials and pigments.

Outside Structure Ten, Jackson, Rowan and Johanna soldiered on with the excavation and meticulous recording of the animal bone that is part of the decommissioning deposit placed around the building around 2400BC.

Whole lotta bone. Rowan (left) and Johanna excavating and recording more of the Structure Ten animal bone deposit. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

It’s a painstaking process but the results, like the original SmartFauna project will add to our understanding of the momentous event.

This afternoon, we bid a fond farewell to Trench T supervisor Rick, who is heading south next week to lead the UHI Archaeology excavation at Swartigill in Caithness.