Category: Excavation
The final find of the season…before the cover-up began
Just when you think it’s all over, we have one last find to share with you – a delicately incised stone from Trench J.… Continue reading
That’s excavation done for another year so thank you all
Dig Diary – Day Thirty-Three
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
Ah well, the inevitable has happened and this is our last day of excavation at the wonderful Ness of Brodgar.… Continue reading
One day left to visit the Ness before the site closes to the public
Dig Diary – Day Thirty-Two
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
How time flies.
The end of the season is nigh and if you’ve yet to visit the site, tomorrow is the last day it’s open to the public.… Continue reading
Another hammerstone and a site awash with planning frames
Dig Diary – Day Thirty-One
Monday, August 9, 2021
Well, readers, this is the beginning of the last week of the excavation campaign for this year.… Continue reading
A decorated stone slab on the floor of Structure Thirty-Two
Dig Diary – Day Thirty
Friday, August 6, 2021
It’s been a quiet sort of day at The Ness, with the only real noise and disturbance coming from a boisterous wind which has whistled and nagged across the site and, as the day draws to a close, seems only to be increasing in volume.… Continue reading
‘Painted’ stone in Structure Ten and a marvellous illustration of our puzzling pot
Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Nine
Thursday, August 5, 2021
So here we are rapidly approaching the end of our penultimate week of excavation. … Continue reading
A puzzling piece of pottery!
Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Eight
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
Today has been busy, with sultry weather and, as close of play draws near, some dramatic thunder and lightning
However, work goes on and in the finds hut Anne is preparing to pack the very large pot which was found outside the blocked north-western entrance of Structure Twelve.… Continue reading
Can you help us cover the site next week?
Do you have a couple of hours (or more) to spare on Thursday, August 12, or Friday, August 13?
Yes, it’s that time of year again when we call for hardy volunteers to help us cover over the site for the winter.… Continue reading
Dig Diary Extra: Dr Jo McKenzie successfully recovers first timber sample
A video of Jo recovering the first of two Neolithic timber samples from the interior of Structure Twelve today. Apologies for the sound quality – the Orcadian wind is impossible to escape, even in the summer!… Continue reading
Objects of beauty and a mission accomplished
Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Seven
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Imagine the situation.
At your feet are probably the only two examples of Neolithic timber inside a structure and in a secure context found in Orkney to date.… Continue reading
Preparations under way to recover prehistoric timber from Structure Twelve
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
A first for the Ness – Neolithic wood has survived in Structure Twelve post-holes
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
Removal of Trench J ‘landmark’ yields animal bone deposit
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
Round-bottomed pottery discovery confirms early date for Structure Five
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
Shoddy building work, new procedures and a fossil fish!
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
