Category: Excavation

Friday, September 9, 2022

An unfinished ‘butterfly’ slab from Structure Seventeen?

Over the past 17 years, excavation at the Ness of Brodgar has revealed hundreds of examples of Neolithic “art”. These vary from light, ephemeral markings to deeply, and precisely, inscribed… Read more

Excavation

Thursday, August 18, 2022

That’s all folks! See you next year, funding permitting

The 2022 season at the Ness of Brodgar is now officially over. Today was spent covering all the archaeology and we’re delighted to announce we managed it all in one… Read more

Supervisor Paul and UHI Archaeology Institute student Pippa at work in Trench J. (Tim Winterburn)

Excavation / Links

Thursday, August 18, 2022

Link: A summer of excavation – photographs from Tim Winterburn

Images from photographer Tim Winterburn. Read more

Excavation

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Dig Diary Extra – Day Thirty-Two in pictures

Excavation

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Dig Diary – It’s all over for another year

Day Thirty-Three Wednesday, August 17, 2022 Well, it has arrived. The end of excavation for this year. The black plastic sheeting and the tyres have been moved into position for… Read more

3D Model / Excavation

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Dig Diary Extra – Trench J in 3d

A new annotated 3d model of Trench J, featuring Structure Five and the northern boundary wall.… Read more

Excavation

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Dig Diary – Bone deposit outside Twenty-Seven brings Structure Ten’s decommissioning to mind

Day Thirty-Two Tuesday, August 16, 2022 Where does the time go? After what seems like the blink of an eye, today was the penultimate day of archaeological work on site.… Read more

Excavation

Monday, August 15, 2022

Dig Diary Extra – Day Thirty-One in pictures

Excavation

Monday, August 15, 2022

Dig Diary – Spatulate stone tool recovered from Structure Twenty-Seven

Day Thirty-One Monday, August 15, 2022 We have managed to escape the thunder and lightning which rattled parts of Orkney over the weekend but the rather eerie aftermath has been… Read more

Excavation

Sunday, August 14, 2022

Dig Diary Extra – Day Thirty in pictures

Excavation

Friday, August 12, 2022

Dig Diary – Fond farewells and another ‘butterfly’ from Structure Ten

Day Thirty Friday, August 12, 2022 Today is the last day of our penultimate week and it means that we must say goodbye to a number of friends and colleagues… Read more

Excavation

Thursday, August 11, 2022

Dig Diary Extra – Day Twenty-Nine in pictures

Excavation

Thursday, August 11, 2022

Dig Diary – Photography, planning and racing against time

Day Twenty-Nine Thursday, August 11, 2022 After an incredibly busy day on site, we must apologise tonight for a very, very truncated diary. It has been all go since we… Read more

Excavation / Video

Thursday, August 11, 2022

Trench J flyaround

Professor Scott Pike’s end-of-season drone flight around Trench J, showing Structure Five and the “Great Wall of Brodgar“.… Read more

Excavation

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Dig Diary Extra – Day Twenty-Eight in pictures

Excavation / Video

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Dig Diary – All hands on deck for pre-photography cleaning sessions

Day Twenty-Eight Wednesday, August 10, 2022 For all those fed-up with Ness weather reports – look away now! For all those who are kinder souls, who care deeply about the… Read more

Excavation

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

Dig Diary – A polished stone axe that looks decidedly like a macehead

Day Twenty-Seven Tuesday, August 9, 2022 You can always rely on the Ness to wait till the end of the day before yielding an artefact that, quite literally, takes your… Read more

Excavation

Monday, August 8, 2022

Dig Diary – A timber building beneath Structure Five?

Day Twenty-Six Monday, August 8, 2022 We’ll start today with one of our least favourite, but most frequent, subjects. You’ve guessed – it’s the weather. It is not our fault… Read more

3D Model / Excavation / Structures

Sunday, August 7, 2022

Dig Diary Extra – 3d model of Structure One’s central orthostat

Another 3d model from Paul Durdin, this time the central orthostat in Structure One. This stone was inserted into the building’s northern hearth and was one of three tied into… Read more