2024’s top finds – Ceiridwen’s decorated stone pair

To find one example of incised stone decoration at the Ness was always a notable occasion on site. Imagine, then, the thrill of finding five, which is exactly what Ceiridwen did this season. And we’ll take a quick look at two of them here…

The first, a substantial block, came from the northern recess of Structure Seventeen, one of Eight’s two predecessors.

It featured the now familiar bands of X-shaped geometric designs and crosshatching on one face, with shallower incisions on one end. Although not as finely executed as some other examples from site, the motifs were larger.

A few days later, and a short distance to the south-west, she found a second in Structure Thirty-Four. This small, thin slab had bands of beautiful, incised decoration on one side and a criss-cross chessboard pattern on the other.