Category: Excavation

Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Six Monday, August 2, 2021 We have a very special offer today, not, we are sad to say, for diary readers, or even for visitors to the site, but for fellow archaeologists.… Continue reading

Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Five Friday, July 30, 2021 Over the years of excavation the Ness has produced so many surprises that some archaeologists thought we had exhausted all the possibilities.… Continue reading

Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Four Thursday, July 29, 2021 An air of calm stillness hung over the Ness excavation today. This was due, in part, to a thick veil of mist that enveloped the site all day and which, at times, not only seemed to muffle sound but made it difficult to see one end of the trench from another.… Continue reading

Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Three Wednesday, July 28, 2021 We have really exciting news today from Structure Five – that enigmatic building huddled just inside the “Great Wall of Brodgar” and undoubtedly one of the oldest buildings on site.… Continue reading

Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Two Tuesday, July 27, 2021 Structure Twelve’s northern annex. It’s been called many things over the years – an add-on; a porch; a vestibule.… Continue reading

Dig Diary – Day Twenty-One Monday, July 26, 2021 Well, here’s something new…rain! Twenty-four hours ago the weather in Orkney was blistering.… Continue reading

Dig Diary – Day Twenty Friday, July 23, 2021 The Ness has had many notable “firsts” but today we became one of the very, very few archaeological sites worldwide to host a film premiere.… Continue reading

A selection of this afternoon’s drone photographs from Structure Twelve supervisor Jim Rylatt.… Continue reading

Dig Diary – Day Nineteen Thursday, July 22, 2021 We’ll begin today’s diary in Structure Ten, where dig director Nick and supervisors Jo and Sinead got together to formulate a strategy for tackling the enigma of missing floors in sections of the building.… Continue reading

Dig Diary – Day Eighteen Wednesday, July 21, 2021 We’ll start today with three interesting developments in Structure Twelve. Working just outside the south wall Ole has found a striking piece of fine pottery.… Continue reading

Dig Diary – Day Seventeen Tuesday, July 20, 2021 There are many things in this world, dear reader, that we thought we would never see.… Continue reading

Dig Diary – Day Fifteen Friday, July 16, 2021 Some of you may have heard of the Simoom, the violent, dry and suffocatingly hot wind which makes life miserable for parts of the Middle East.… Continue reading