Dig Diary – curvilinear decoration in Structure Five and a Structure Twenty-Seven revelation

The decorated stone from Structure Five in situ this morning. (Sigurd Towrie)

Day Sixteen
Monday, July 25, 2022

We know that we seem to have been unusually fixated on the weather in recent weeks but today has confirmed that we are right – it is dreadful.

Heavy rain overnight, a coarse nasty wind from the north and unseasonal low temperatures have all conspired to make excavating something of a trial today.

Luckily the Ness came to our rescue with some superb archaeology.

Structure Five’s decorated stone showing curvilinear designs – something of a rarity at the Ness. (Sigurd Towrie)

We will start in Trench J, and Structure Five. Aaron has been digging with us for several years without making a major find. Today his luck changed.

Working at the inner wall face of Structure Five he uncovered a most unusual decorated slab of stone. It has pecked decoration forming a series of arcs which may bring to mind the enigmatic eyebrow motifs found on other Neolithic sites, but particularly the Holm of Papay South chambered cairn.

Aaron with his decorated stone, which was successfully removed from the building at close of play today. (Sigurd Towrie)

A closer view of the recovered stone slab. (Sigurd Towrie)

The ‘Brodgar Eye’ – a cup-and-ring marked stone from Structure Ten. (Antonia Thomas)

Although we now have hundreds of examples of incised “artwork” from the Ness, these tend to be comprised of straight lines or geometric motifs.

Curved or circular decoration is rare by comparison, although we have had some – the “Brodgar Eye” for example, which can be sponsored here, and a handful of pick-dressed “horned spirals”.

The stone was removed at the end of the day and will now be the object of intensive study.

Heads down in Structure Twenty-Seven this afternoon. (Sigurd Towrie)

In Trench T, Structure Twenty-Seven remains as difficult to interpret as ever. The team from Willamette University are working hard and have uncovered more of its beautifully constructed original wall.

More significantly, it is now clear that the wall core, the material deposited within the interior and exterior wall faces, is every bit as remarkable as the rest of the building.

Unlike the other buildings on site the wall core of Structure Twenty-Seven is composed of carefully placed stone. All other structures have wall core partially made up of midden.

Why is that important?

Willamette University students Emma and Rowan uncovering a section of Structure Twenty-Seven’s northern wall. (Sigurd Towrie)

Structure Twenty-Seven takes shape. (Sigurd Towrie)

Some archaeological theorists suggest that midden, composed as it is partly of organic material, has connotations of “life”, whereas stone may reflect aspects of “death”. From this they argue that walls composed entirely of stone may reflect mortuary practices.

Site director Nick wants to make crystal clear that we are not suggesting that Structure Twenty-Seven is a chambered or stalled tomb. In truth we do not know what it is and we have no dating evidence thus far.

In addition, the fact that the walls do not include midden may simply be because the structure, whatever it is, was built before the curation and use of midden.

We have, therefore, accumulating evidence, none of which can yet lead us to an understanding of the function or date of this puzzling building.

Structure Eight’s northern wall with the present entrance in red and the extent of the earlier doorway in yellow. (Scott Pike)

In Structure Eight the belief that the small northern entrance is part of the second phase of the building, and that the first phase entrance in the same spot was a very large entrance, is now accepted. It is one of those situations where, once something is pointed out, it becomes blindingly obvious.

The stones on either side of the small entrance are not tied in and therefore suggest a rather unimpressive reconstruction to narrow the access. The original entrance will not be revealed for some time but it is already known fondly as the “barn door”.

A tray full of cattle teeth. Given their position in a surviving section of Structure Eleven, these were likely to have been attached to the animal’s mandible, which has not survived. (Sigurd Towrie)

Sigurd excavating the sole surviving section of Structure Eleven – a much later building that was tacked on to the end of Structure Nineteen. Structure One is pictured in the background (with Andy and Jenna inside). (Jo Bourne)

Some of the poorly-preserved animal remains from the wall of Structure Eleven. (Sigurd Towrie)

Andy and Jenna diligently working away on Structure One’s floors. (Jo Bourne)

The Japanese film crew who visited us have now left. They are heading to Wales to film work on a World Heritage Site slate mine. We hope to have a link to view their Ness programme when it is broadcast in Japan.

New diggers arrived this morning from our own UHI Archaeology Institute and also from the University of Central Lancashire.

They are very welcome and we desperately hope that they will not succumb to hypothermia.

We shall see….tomorrow.

Sue, one of today’s new arrivals, excavating an orthostatic box in Structure Eight. (Jo Bourne)

Jack with a flint found in a post-hole by the north wall of Structure Eight. (Jo Bourne)