Link: 3d model of Neolithic structure at Spurness, Sanday

Two weeks of fieldwork in Sanday, investigating a substantial Neolithic structure at the west side of the Bay of Stove, ended last Friday.

When digging started, the UHI Archaeology Institute team were of the opinion that the site contained a Bronze Age double house. As work continued, and the trench was uncovered and extended, the seeds of doubt began to take root.

It’s now clear that what had been uncovered was a substantial Early Neolithic structure – one that underwent at least three major modifications in what was clearly a long life.

It seems to have started out as a long, subrectangular structure, orientated east to west, with an interior divided by a series of paired orthostats – a feature found not only in early dwellings but within the stalled cairns, such as Unstan, Midhowe and Tresness.

A new 3d model of the remains, courtesy of UHI Archaeology Institute PhD student Logan O’Brien, is now available. Click here to view.

The photogrammetry model from 2018 is available here.