Category: Excavation

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Three new buildings and a decommissioning feast for Structure Twenty-Seven

Dig Diary – Thursday, August 6, 2020 Day Twenty-Four We begin today in 2012 – another damp day in which activity on site was hampered by rain. In Structure Ten,… Read more

Excavation

Thursday, August 6, 2020

The first excavation at the Ness

Anyone who has been on a tour of the Ness will be familiar with the story of the notched slab that started it all. The slab, which had been ploughed… Read more

Excavation

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Cupmarks galore around Structure Twelve entrance

Dig Diary – Wednesday, August 5, 2020 Day Twenty-Three Friday, August 5, 2011, was another day of roof tiles in Structure Eight. After recovering over 370 examples in the building,… Read more

2014: Structure One on this day six years ago. The southern, original, entrance is in the foreground, with the later eastern entrance on the right. (Hugo Anderson-Whymark)

Excavation

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

A day of site-wide revelations…

Dig Diary – Tuesday, August 4, 2020 Day Twenty-Two Wednesday, August 4, 2011, was a day of revelations in Trench P. Working in Structure Fourteen it became clear that the… Read more

Excavation

Monday, August 3, 2020

A plethora of exquisite polished stone artefacts!

Dig Diary – Monday, August 3, 2020 Day Twenty-One August 2011 began with a plethora of finds from Structure Eight. Following the discovery of a “toolkit” a few days before,… Read more

Structure Ten Decorated Stone (Hugo Anderson-Whymark)

Excavation

Friday, July 31, 2020

‘The most incredible piece of Neolithic decoration found on site’

Seven years ago today was a day to remember. It was the day that the most incredible piece of Neolithic decoration found on site to date emerged from the interior of Structure Ten. Read more

Excavation

Thursday, July 30, 2020

The first suggestion of Iron Age remodelling of Trench T mound

Dig Diary – Thursday, July 30, 2020 Day Nineteen July 30, 2012, saw some intense thinking about the site by site director Nick. Building on the detailed stratigraphic by the… Read more

Excavation

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

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

2011: The complete 'Brodgar Boy' clay object from Structure Fourteen. (ORCA)

Excavation

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

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

Excavation

Monday, July 27, 2020

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

Excavation / Video

Sunday, July 26, 2020

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… Read more

Excavation

Friday, July 24, 2020

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

Excavation

Thursday, July 23, 2020

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… Read more