The excavation of Structure Twenty-Six began in August 2016, when Trench P was extended to investigate walling revealed adjacent the south-western section of Structure Ten’s paved external passageway.
The walling was found to be part of a small, D-shaped building between Structures Ten, Twelve and Thirty.
Measuring around 6.5m by 4.5m, Structure Twenty-Six is one of a group of smaller buildings constructed late in the history of the Ness of Brodgar complex – in this case perhaps around 2900-2500BC.
Featuring a single, narrow entrance in the south-eastern corner, its interior was dominated by a rectangular hearth flanked by a large orthostat featuring decoration on both sides.
Long and low, the thin slab ran south-west to north-east and defined a single rectangular recess along building’s eastern wall.
The structure’s walls were a mix of different construction styles, probably incorporating sections of earlier buildings. Some of the wall sections were freestanding while others had been partially dug into midden.
Early in its excavation Twenty-Six began producing material at odds with its size and construction.
This included fine examples of decorated and dressed stone which, together with geologically recognisable stone previously encountered in Structure Twelve (and its earlier incarnation Structure Twenty-Eight), suggests Twenty-Six was constructed from material robbed from it and the collapsed primary phase of Structure Ten.
Structure Twenty-Six’s D-shaped form is very similar to that of Structure One at the Stonehall settlement in Firth.
