Dig Diary – A new week and the christening of a new building!
Day Twenty-One
Monday, July 31, 2023
Another new week – the start of the fifth of this year’s excavation season.
And with it came a new intake of diggers –… Read more
Author: Sigurd
Diary Extra – 3d model of complete Grooved Ware pot
A new 3d model from Trench J supervisor Paul Durdin - this one showing the beautiful, and apparently intact Grooved Ware pot found between Structures Twenty-Nine and One on Thursday afternoon. Read more
Diary Extra – Day Twenty-One in pictures
A small selection of the photographs taken by Jo Bourne, all across the site, today.
Click on any image to enlarge and to show captions.… Read more
Dig Diary – Sunshine brings out the crowds for annual Ness open day
Open Day 2023 gets under way on site this morning. (📷 Jo Bourne)
Day TwentySunday, July 30, 2023
We truly couldn’t have wished for better conditions for an open day.… Read more
Latest 3d model shows all the Great Wall’s newly excavated section

Earlier in the season, Trench J’s supervisor, Paul Durdin, created a 3d model of the outer face of the northern boundary wall – the so-called “Great Wall of Brodgar”.… Read more
Exhibition of Ness artwork opens in Stromness
An exhibition of work created by Ness artist-in-residence Jeanne Rose opens in Stromness tomorrow, Saturday, July 29.
Entitled Over the Edge: Paint and Brush Between Trowel and Stone at the… Read more
Diary Extra – Day Nineteen in pictures
Lovely to see Jo Bourne back on site, so here’s a selection of her pictures from today.
Click on any image for an enlarged version.… Read more
Dig Diary – Found it! Suspected hearth in Structure Twenty-Seven
All eyes on Structure Twenty-Seven this afternoon, where a possible hearth emerged. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)
Dig Diary – Day NineteenThursday, July 27
One thing you can always be sure of,… Read more
Diary Extra – Day Eighteen in pictures
A few photographs from across the site today. Click on any image for an enlargement.… Read more
Dig Diary – Wall after wall in Structure Twelve!
The dig team gather around Structure Twelve during this morning’s site tour. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)
Day EighteenWednesday, July 26
The day dawned bright, with a few drizzly showers about 1pm,… Read more
Dig Diary – Funerary role for Structure Twenty-Seven? Bookan cairn parallels resurface after today’s discoveries
There is no doubt that Structure Twenty-Seven is a puzzling building. Read more
Dig Diary – More evidence of Structure Twenty-Eight beneath our feet?
We kick off today’s diary with Structure Twelve, where there were a couple of surprises late in the day. Read more
Video: Structure Twelve – ‘The hammer(stone) house of horrors’
Site director Nick Card's 2023 pre-dig lecture in Kirkwall, recorded by Orkney Archaeology Society in June as part of their OAS Legacy Project. Read more
Diary Extra – New 3d model of Great Wall of Brodgar’s outer face
A new 3d model of the northern boundary wall by Trench J supervisor Paul Durdin.
The ‘Great Wall of Brodgar’ is a huge construction that spans the Ness of Brodgar.… Read more
Diary Extra – Day Fifteen in pictures
A selection of photographs from day 15. Click on any image for a larger version.… Read more
Dig Diary – Farewells, finds, frustrations and revelations
Day Fifteen
Friday, July 21, 2023
Here we are at the end of week three!
It has been one of those Friday’s tinged with sadness because we have… Read more
