Wednesday wildlife – making the most of the scant hours of daylight
This week’s photographic offering from Ness of Brodgar site director Nick Card.
… Read more
About the Ness of Brodgar
The Ness of Brodgar site has been under excavation since 2004, revealing a massive complex of monumental Neolithic buildings dating from the centuries around 3000BC.
Without parallel in Atlantic Europe, the Ness of Brodgar’s three hectares are filled with huge stone structures containing spectacular finds.
These have made the Ness one of the most important archaeological excavations in the world today, changing our understanding of the culture and beliefs of Neolithic Orkney and shining a new light on the prehistory of northern Europe.
The project is mainly funded through the generosity of the public through our two supporting charities the Ness of Brodgar Trust and the American Friends.
The Knowes of Trotty – a Bronze Age cemetery and Neolithic settlement site
By Sigurd Towrie
Sitting in an area of marshland in Orkney’s West Mainland are the Knowes of Trotty [*] – a Bronze Age barrow cemetery that is the only one… Read more
British Museum announce objects joining Ness artefacts at Stonehenge exhibition
A selection of artefacts from the Ness of Brodgar are among the hundreds coming together for a special exhibition on Stonehenge at the British Museum next year.
Running from February… Read more
Macehead auction raised £260 for excavation fund
The auction of a wooden replica of a Neolithic macehead has raised £260 for Ness of Brodgar excavation funds.
Created by Orcadian woodturner Michael Sinclair, the stunning macehead and stand… Read more
Wednesday wildlife – watching you watching me
Our weekly selection of photographs from site director Nick Card.… Read more
Tracing the Lines: Uncovering Grooved Ware Trajectories in Neolithic Scotland
Ness stalwart and ceramic specialist Dr Mike Copper is the co-author of a new paper looking at the adoption, development and demise of Neolithic Grooved Ware pottery in Scotland.
Tracing… Read more
Wednesday wildlife – the otter and the eel meal
This week’s photographic selection from site director Nick Card documents one of his aquatic neighbours on the Ness taking to the water and successfully catching a meal!
… Read more
Dates set for 2022 excavation
Next year’s excavation at the Ness of Brodgar will run from Monday, July 4, 2022 until Friday, August 19, 2022.
Naturally these dates depend entirely on pandemic developments but, all… Read more
A detailed look at the life of Structure Twelve
Working through the website a few weeks ago, it became clear that the information on Structure Twelve was sorely lacking!
The building, possibly once one of the most stunning on… Read more
Wednesday wildlife – buffeted by a westerly
This week’s photographs from dig director Nick Card.… Read more
Supporting research at the Ness
One of the ways we can best progress work on the Ness of Brodgar is via student research, particularly at postgraduate level.
If we can at least cover the cost… Read more
Shop additions, a new ‘Sponsor a Find’ fundraiser and Christmas last order dates
We’ve had a busy week and have launched a new fundraiser Sponsor a Find.
The idea is that we periodically give you the choice from several Ness of Brodgar finds… Read more
Wednesday wildlife – an early morning otter encounter
This week’s gallery of photographs from site director Nick Card featured a special, early morning encounter with one of the otters who call the Ness home.
The pictures of the… Read more
Basketry marks inside a Grooved Ware vessel? Another Ness pottery mystery…
By Roy Towers
The ceramic assemblage which has emerged from the Ness of Brodgar is, as we have often said, simply enormous. We think we have around 100,000 sherds of… Read more
Wednesday wildlife – squabbling and sheltering between the lochs
Wednesday dawns – or at least it will in another 25 minutes or so in Orkney – so we’ve got another batch of photographs from excavation director Nick Card. As… Read more
Where’s the trees? Gathering and using timber in Neolithic Orkney
“To everyone’s surprise, the primary occupation of Wideford Hill was found to be represented by a series of structures or houses of timber construction.”
Colin Richards and Andrew Meirion Jones.… Read more
Wednesday wildlife – when skarfie met selkie
Wednesday again, so time for another selection of photographs from site director Nick Card showcasing the wild side of the Ness.
… Read more
Structure Twenty-Six – an update
The next update to our pages covering the different structures in the Ness of Brodgar complex is now live. This week, we cover Structure Twenty-Six, the later building between Structures… Read more
Wednesday wildlife – ones and twos
This week’s photographs from Ness of Brodgar excavation director Nick Card.… Read more
Latest prehistoric fingerprints belonged to 13-year-old boy
The latest prehistoric fingerprints on a pottery fragment from the Ness of Brodgar belonged to a 13-year-old boy.
Previous 5,000-year-old prints from the Neolithic complex in Orkney were identified as… Read more
