The Ness of Brodgar Excavation

Click here to donate to the Ness excavation fund

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

One day left to visit the Ness before the site closes to the public

Dig Diary – Day Thirty-Two Tuesday, August 10, 2021 How time flies. The end of the season is nigh and if you’ve yet to visit the site, tomorrow is the last day it’s open to the public.… Continue reading

Excavation

Monday, August 9, 2021

Another hammerstone and a site awash with planning frames

Dig Diary – Day Thirty-One Monday, August 9, 2021 Well, readers, this is the beginning of the last week of the excavation campaign for this year.… Continue reading

Excavation

Friday, August 6, 2021

A decorated stone slab on the floor of Structure Thirty-Two

Dig Diary – Day Thirty Friday, August 6, 2021 It’s been a quiet sort of day at The Ness, with the only real noise and disturbance coming from a boisterous wind which has whistled and nagged across the site and, as the day draws to a close, seems only to be increasing in volume.… Continue reading

Excavation

Thursday, August 5, 2021

‘Painted’ stone in Structure Ten and a marvellous illustration of our puzzling pot

Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Nine Thursday, August 5, 2021 So here we are rapidly approaching the end of our penultimate week of excavation. … Continue reading

Ceramics / Excavation

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

A puzzling piece of pottery!

Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Eight Wednesday, August 4, 2021 Today has been busy, with sultry weather and, as close of play draws near, some dramatic thunder and lightning However, work goes on and in the finds hut Anne is preparing to pack the very large pot which was found outside the blocked north-western entrance of Structure Twelve.… Continue reading

Excavation

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Can you help us cover the site next week?

Do you have a couple of hours (or more) to spare on Thursday, August 12, or Friday, August 13? Yes, it’s that time of year again when we call for hardy volunteers to help us cover over the site for the winter.… Continue reading

Excavation / Video

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Dig Diary Extra: Dr Jo McKenzie successfully recovers first timber sample

A video of Jo recovering the first of two Neolithic timber samples from the interior of Structure Twelve today. Apologies for the sound quality – the Orcadian wind is impossible to escape, even in the summer!… Continue reading

Excavation

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Objects of beauty and a mission accomplished

Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Seven Tuesday, August 3, 2021 Imagine the situation. At your feet are probably the only two examples of Neolithic timber inside a structure and in a secure context found in Orkney to date.… Continue reading

Excavation

Monday, August 2, 2021

Preparations under way to recover prehistoric timber from Structure Twelve

Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Six Monday, August 2, 2021 We have a very special offer today, not, we are sad to say, for diary readers, or even for visitors to the site, but for fellow archaeologists.… Continue reading

Excavation

Friday, July 30, 2021

A first for the Ness – Neolithic wood has survived in Structure Twelve post-holes

Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Five Friday, July 30, 2021 Over the years of excavation the Ness has produced so many surprises that some archaeologists thought we had exhausted all the possibilities.… Continue reading

Excavation

Thursday, July 29, 2021

Removal of Trench J ‘landmark’ yields animal bone deposit

Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Four Thursday, July 29, 2021 An air of calm stillness hung over the Ness excavation today. This was due, in part, to a thick veil of mist that enveloped the site all day and which, at times, not only seemed to muffle sound but made it difficult to see one end of the trench from another.… Continue reading

Excavation

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Round-bottomed pottery discovery confirms early date for Structure Five

Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Three Wednesday, July 28, 2021 We have really exciting news today from Structure Five – that enigmatic building huddled just inside the “Great Wall of Brodgar” and undoubtedly one of the oldest buildings on site.… Continue reading

Excavation

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Shoddy building work, new procedures and a fossil fish!

Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Two Tuesday, July 27, 2021 Structure Twelve’s northern annex. It’s been called many things over the years – an add-on; a porch; a vestibule.… Continue reading

3D Model / Excavation

Monday, July 26, 2021

Structure Five in 3D

A new, fully-interactive 3D model of Structure Five created by Trench J supervisor Paul Durdin. Earlier models of the building, the earliest excavated on site to date, can be viewed and compared here.… Continue reading

Excavation

Monday, July 26, 2021

Remnants of a Neolithic snack unearthed outside Structure Twelve

Dig Diary – Day Twenty-One Monday, July 26, 2021 Well, here’s something new…rain! Twenty-four hours ago the weather in Orkney was blistering.… Continue reading

3D Model / Ceramics

Monday, July 26, 2021

New 3D model of Structure Twelve pot sherd’s decorated face

A new week…a new 3D model. On July 19, we shared the model of a huge Grooved Ware pot sherd from outside the blocked-up north-west entrance to Structure Twelve.… Continue reading