Around the Ness: The Stones of Stenness – part two
“Each of the remaining pillars is about 18 feet above ground: one was lately thrown down, but has not been broken; three were, in the month of December 1814, torn from the spot on...
Category: Standing Stones
Around the Ness: the Comet Stone
“The old track now passes by a small, solitary standing stone slab, encircled in green for some distance around its base and finally merging again into heather.” George Marwick. The Standing Stones of Stenness...
Photographic mastery – Jim Richardson views from around the Ness
In 2012, Jim Richardson visited the Ness to capture images for a planned National Geographic feature article. The resultant images were truly awe-inspiring and today, thanks to Jim’s generosity, we’re able to share a ...
A natural cursus? Water, walls and walking the Ness
“Seven thousand years ago, Mesolithic hunter gatherers walked the long ridge of land in the heart of Orkney, known today as the Ness of Brodgar. Later, Neolithic farmers chose that land to erect massive...
Diary extra – Around the Ring of Brodgar
It’s a beautiful day in the West Mainland of Orkney. One of those very rare summer days when there’s hardly a breath of wind. With some work to do at Ness dig HQ,...
Around the Ness: The Watchstone
“When on the way to the Bridge of Brogar, attention is at once arrested by a singly giant monolith … standing erect, like a giant sentinel, called the Watch Stone” James Macbeath. The Orkneys...
Pictures from the Past – The Stones of Stenness
Following our appeal for old photographs of the Ness and its environs, Pat Long sent us these early postcards showing the Stones of Stenness. Thanks Pat. If you’ve been digging through boxes, chests and...
Solved! The perplexing puzzle of the Stones of Stenness ‘building’
There’s nothing like finally getting to the bottom of an irksome puzzle. In this case, the puzzle related to an old photograph of the Stones of Stenness (above). The mystery, however, had nothing to...
Ring of Brodgar relegated to fifth place in stone circle size table
Archaeological work in south-west Wales has pushed the Ring of Brodgar back to fifth place in the list of largest stone circles in the British Isles. Four stones remain at the Waun Mawn ring,...