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The Ness of Brodgar complex

Discovered in 2003, 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 discovery of the Ness complex
About the Site
Karen Wallis: Working on site - photograph by Joanne Bourne.

Ness of Brodgar 2018 sketchbook online

Artist-in-residence Karen Wallis’s 2018 sketchbook of drawings is now online, through the link on her website homepage at www.karenwallis.co.uk. Karen will be back on site this summer for her fourth… Read more

Ness donors – thank you all

Since we sent out last month’s newsletter (if you have not signed up yet, click here) we’ve had a number of generous donations to the Ness excavation funds. To respect… Read more

Turning a petrosphere…

Long-time supporters of the Ness  Michael and Sara Sinclair have posted a video showing the creation of one of their wooden petropsheres. The auction of one of Michael’s stunning brass petrospheres… Read more

Orkney – The Queen’s Isles

(Since posting this, we’ve learned it is not available to viewers outside Europe. Sorry to our non-European followers) A beautiful documentary on Orkney, from ARTE. The film-makers visited the Ness… Read more

Dig director bound for China

Ness of Brodgar site director Nick Card is bound for China next week, to take part in a workshop on heritage management. Nick will travel to Xi’an for the event… Read more
The update for diggers began at Trench T this morning.

No more volunteer spaces for 2019 dig

Thank you to all who have been in touch asking about volunteering opportunities at the 2019 excavation. All available places are now full. We have had hundreds of inquiries over… Read more

Congratulations Dr Johnson…

All the team at the Ness would like to send our congratulations to our resident geologist, who has been awarded her PhD. Dr Martha Johnson has worked at the Ness… Read more

3D printing the Ness of Brodgar

At the end of last season, we mentioned the tremendous work done by Jim Bright, our photogrammetry expert, and Mark Newton, who produces wonderful physical 3D models from his printer.… Read more