Astonished by the scale of the trench-spanning mega-drain
Dig Diary – Wednesday, July 29, 2020
Day Eighteen
We kick of proceedings today in Structure Eight, which has revealed much in the way of finds – including huge quartz… Read more
Category: Excavation
The ‘Brodgar Boy’ emerges … but what was it?
Dig Diary – Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Day Seventeen
On this day in 2011, the “Brodgar Boy” emerged from Structure Fourteen.
The small clay “figurine” was about only 30mm (1.18in)… Read more
More maceheads, axes and horned spiral decoration…
Diary – Monday, July 27, 2020Day Sixteen
2011: The macehead and pierced bone in Structure Eight. (📷 ORCA)
Structure Eight has a reputation for fine artefacts and it didn’t disappoint… Read more
Woodlands under the waves…
A talk by Dr Scott Timpany of the Archaeology Institute UHI on prehistoric woodlands preserved within intertidal peats around the coastline of Britain.
Here Scott explains the information these… Read more
Behold the ‘Butterfly Stone’
Seven years ago today, what has become one of the most iconic finds from the Ness first saw the light of day. Read more
Axes, maceheads and ‘Great Wall’ revelations
Diary – Thursday, July 23, 2020
Day Fourteen
The second week of the 2012 season got under way with the discovery of a human tooth inside Structure Ten.
The single… Read more
Rare bone pins, rarer wood and an enigmatic annexe from above
Diary – Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Day Thirteen
The first week of the 2011 excavation season ended on July 22, with the discovery of a stone ball – not the… Read more
Coloured pottery, a Bronze Age arrowhead and an ‘eyebrow’ motif – a day of firsts for the Ness
Diary – Tuesday, July 21, 2020
Day Twelve
Colour was the theme on this day nine years ago.
Not only did we have another coloured stone within the walls of… Read more
GIS – recording finds on a 3D site map
Alette recording find positions with the Total Station. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)
The position of everything found during excavation is recorded digitally in three dimensions. You will know that is what… Read more
Human arm bone added to list of Structure Ten buttress deposits
Diary – Monday, July 20, 2020Day Eleven
2011: Ray reveals the first hints of the third hearth in Structure Eight. (📷 ORCA)
There’s nothing like sifting through our archives to… Read more
Awe and wonder in an age of reason – taking visitors to the Ness of Brodgar excavations
By Peter Yeoman
The greatest thing about a visit to the Ness is that it peoples the landscape of deep time, in a way that other prehistoric sites on Orkney… Read more
Threshold disappointment and a new rock art design revealed
Diary – Friday, July 17, 2020
Day Ten
It was day two on this day in 2012 and although the uncovering process had gone remarkably quickly, site housework – cleaning,… Read more
Decorated ‘dotted’ stone was a first for the Ness
Diary – Thursday, July 16, 2020
Day Nine
There was a new look to the site when the excavation team turned up on Monday, July 16, 2012. The spoil heaps… Read more
A spectacular incised slab – the first of many in 2019
Diary – Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Day Eight
As mentioned yesterday, we’re now reaching the point where the pre-2015, six-week excavations on site start getting under way.
In 2014, it… Read more
A remarkable pottery sherd…
Diary – Tuesday, July 14, 2020Day Seven
2014: The last of the stones holding down the protective covers are removed from Structure Twelve. (📷 ORCA)
Six years ago today, the… Read more
Hints there’s something beyond Structure Twelve’s entrance…
Diary – Monday, July 13, 2020Day Six
Colin reveal a new pecked design in the east entrance to Structure Twelve. (📷 ORCA)
We’re back for week two and looking out… Read more
