From the Art Hut – ‘Marks of Reverence’
I’m Diane Eagles an art psychotherapist and artist.
I’m now in my final year of the online MA Contemporary Art and Archaeology course at the UHI Archaeology Institute, which I’m… Read more
Author: Sigurd
Dig Diary – Welcome return of Time Team member who discovered the Ness complex
Excavation under way in Structure Twenty-Seven’s south-western end. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)
Day Twenty-FiveFriday, August 4, 2023
John Gater – of Time Team fame – back on site, 21 years after… Read more
Dig Diary – Wooden fragments recovered from two Ness structures
Two of the timber fragments under the microscope. (📷 Jen Miller)
Day Twenty-FourThursday, August 3, 2023
Regular readers will know that the preservation of organic material at the Ness is… Read more
The F-word revisited
An update on project funding from Ness project officer Anne Mitchell. Read more
Dig Diary – Structure Thirty-Nine is no more but Twenty is getting bigger
Today’s decorated stone – found by Tristan in Structure One. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)
Day Twenty-ThreeWednesday, August 2, 2023
Just a few days after it was given a name, Structure Thirty-Nine… Read more
Diary Extra – Drone shots of Structures Ten and Twenty-Seven
A selection of photographs from today’s drone sessions.
Structure Ten. (📷 Scott Pike)
Structure Ten. (📷 Scott Pike)
Structure Ten. (📷 Scott Pike)
Interior of Ten, with Twenty bottom left.… Read more
Dig Diary – More decorated stone, pottery and unravelling the story of the ‘rockery with a roof’
A day of perfect weather, revelations and incredible finds. Read more
Diary Extra – 3d model shows where three structures meet
Another new model from Paul Durdin, showing the small, but complex, area, beside Structure Twelve’s western, central pier.
Where buildings like Twelve have been built over the top of earlier… Read more
Diary Extra – Day Twenty-Two in pictures
A small selection of images from across the site today. Read more
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… Read more
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
