Dig diary – we thought it was all over…it is now
The threshold stone is lifted to reveal a drain. (đź“· Sigurd Towrie)
Day 20
Friday, July 31, 2026
I knew that hailing yesterday’s diary as the last was tempting fate.
After Structure Forty-Four’s entrance feature was planned and recorded, the large threshold stone was lifted to reveal…a drain.
Now while drains might not rank high on your list of stupendous archaeological discoveries. Indeed, this one wasn’t a patch on some of the more-elaborate, stone-lined examples from Trenches P and T. It was, however, a metaphoric Rosetta Stone when it came to understanding the construction sequence of Structure Forty-Four and its neighbour, Forty-Five.
Mark recovering Environmental DNA from the drain contents (left) and the excavated drain section. (đź“· Sigurd Towrie)
Stratigraphically, the drain section ran beneath our scrappy wall section, which, in turn, pre-dated Structure Forty-Five. This showed without a shadow of a doubt that Forty-Four was built first, the wall section perhaps a later addition to its exterior. Then along came Structure Forty-Five.
The drain segment outside the entrance was part of the narrow gully encircling the building and was the only covered section. In the final hour of work, Mark also confirmed a second drain ran from the Structure Forty-Four’s interior to join it.
Other excavated segments of the encircling gully to the north and west of the structure. (đź“· Sigurd Towrie)
Lucy and Ray recording the newly excavated gully segment to the east of Structure Forty-Four. (đź“· Sigurd Towrie)
The final surprise of the day came in the form of a substantial post-hole in the south-western quadrant. Ben was looking for evidence of a corner buttress but was coming up blank.
As he worked down through the overlying material, clear signs of a post-hole emerged. With a diameter of approximately 30 centimetres, this would once have held a sturdy, tree-trunk sized post.
The question now is how this post relates to Structure Forty-Four. Timber posts are generally not a feature found in later Neolithic stone structures. At the Ness, where evidence of posts were found it was for hasty structural repairs, such as that encountered in Structures Eight and Twelve.
But Structure Five, which dated to c.3300BC, had six post-holes with diameters of c.40cm, running along the base of its inner walls. This led to the suggestion that they represented an earlier timber building, Structure Forty-One.
Today’s post-hole may relate to the first phase of Structure Forty-Four’s life or, like Structure Five, represent an earlier phase of activity on site. Unfortunately, a single post-hole can’t answer that question.
And with that I’ll end this definitely-the-final dig diary from the Ness…but keep watching this space. There will be a couple of new 3d models shortly. And who knows what else.
Eleventh hour excavation and recording as the site hut is taken away. (đź“· Sigurd Towrie)
