Dig Diary – Monday, August 22, 2016
Day Thirty-Six
An unexpected discovery
The sky over the Ness today was grey and overcast and so, unfortunately, was the mood down below.
It’s partly a hangover (non-alcoholic) from the… Read more
Category: Excavation
Dig Diary – Sunday, August 21, 2016
Day Thirty-Five
Thank you all . . .
Sorry folks, there’s no written diary today as we were just too busy with almost 1,200 visitors to the open day. But,… Read more
Dig Diary – Thursday, August 18, 2016
Day Thirty-Four
Activity on the Ness extended by new radiocarbon dates
Today was a day for visitors – not just our very valued folk here to take tours, but for… Read more
Dig Diary Extra – Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Trench X in three dimensions
As mentioned in today’s dig diary, Dr Hugo Anderson-Whymark has been back on site today and has created this 3D model of Trench X. This… Read more
Dig Diary – Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Day Thirty-Three
Prehistoric seaweed? Maybe. But there’s definitely more art…
Today we have a mysterious object – a very mysterious object.
We told you recently of Jenny’s excellent efforts in… Read more
Dig Diary – Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Day Thirty-Two
There’s art in those stones…
We’re going to start today with heartiest congratulations to two of our stalwarts.
Claire and Mike have toiled long and hard in Structure… Read more
Dig Diary – Monday, August 15, 2016
Day Thirty-One
Reusing a stone circle?
We are worried about the BBC. The team filming the Ness excavations arrived in force this morning and followed Nick around, bombarding him with… Read more
Dig Diary – Friday, August 12, 2016
Day Thirty
The Ness is alive, with the sound of ‘chambered’ . . .
The Ness of Brodgar is suffused with a rosy glow today and it has nothing, absolutely… Read more
Dig Diary Special – Thursday, August 11, 2016
Getting to grips with geomatics
Although to most visitors of the Ness of Brodgar we might appear like either brightly-coloured or darkly-tinted lumps of waterproofs, crouched down in tiny corners… Read more
Dig Diary – Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Day Twenty-Eight
A veritable ‘Day of Stone’
Today was a day of solid, undiluted archaeology. As site director Nick describes it, with capital letter emphasis, a Day of Stone.
You… Read more
Dig Diary — Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Day Twenty-Seven
What lies beneath Structure Ten’s sandstone blocks?
Sorry folks, we’re starting with the weather again, but for a particular reason. Today is windy and cold.
The weather-beating received… Read more
Dig Diary – Monday, August 8, 2016
Day Twenty-Six
Decorating the stones as the walls were built . . .
If any dear readers are fed up hearing about the weather, rest assured, we are fed up… Read more
Dig Diary – Friday, August 5, 2016
Day Twenty-Five
Astounding generosity and a daunting discovery . . .
We have two huge events to report today. The first is the utterly amazing response to our appeal for… Read more
Dig Diary – Thursday, August 4, 2016
Day Twenty-Four
Some things becomes clearer, others don’t . . .
Resilience is the hallmark of many archaeologists. It has to be, as a life in a muddy trench, while… Read more
Dig Diary Special – Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Day Twenty-Three
Back in the lab with geoarchaeologist Jo
Jo McKenzie with a near-perfect sample through the floors of Structure Eight – carefully balanced on the cake-slice used to extract… Read more
Dig Diary – Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Day Twenty-Two
Big buildings and another very big beast
So much has happened today that it’s difficult to know where to start. Perhaps the beginning would be best and, as… Read more
Dig Diary – Monday, August 1, 2016
Day Twenty-One
Watched by a drone above . . .
Somehow you never imagine, when embarking on a career in archaeology, that the regulations of the Civil Aviation Authority will… Read more
Dig Diary – Sunday, July 31, 2016
Day Twenty
The year’s first open day
What a day! We were promised mainly dry weather but the wind blew and the showers just kept on coming – but still… Read more
Diary Extra – 3D reconstruction of a complete pillow stone
Today saw the discovery of another pillow stone at the Ness, although the latest find, from Trench X, was broken. One of the other, complete, pillow stones found on site… Read more
