By Cecily Webster Structure Twelve had structural problems at various points – likely including roof leaks as the heavy slab tiles levered away from each other and subsequent discolouration of any wash used on...
Diary – Monday, August 10, 2020 Day Twenty-Six The 2011 investigation of the area around the presumed entrance to Structure Ten struck gold today – wall lines! These, however, were not what was expected...
Although we don’t have a huge number of beads at the Ness, the examples we have show exquisite craftsmanship. Unlike Skara Brae, where the huge bead assemblage was predominantly bone, the Ness beads are...
Diggers and Finds Team volunteers come from far and wide to excavate the Ness of Brodgar but there is also a core of folk in Orkney who give their summers to the site. On...
Our brief guide to Orkney’s prehistory has been updated, with a new page outlining the Iron Age in the islands. Click here to read.
By Roy Towers How was Neolithic pottery made, and in particular the Grooved Ware pottery from the Ness of Brodgar? We should acknowledge at the outset that this is not a simple question. Every...
Dig Diary – Friday, August 7, 2020 Day Twenty-Five It was officially given a name on August 6, 2018, but it was on this day in 2012 that the first signs of Structure Thirty-One...
Seven years ago today we found the only example of a carved stone ball from the Ness to date. After a tremendous response to the first batch, we have a limited number of replica...
The recovery of large artefacts, such as stone tools and pottery, is just one part of the excavation process. What about the tiny items and organic material that are a vital part of...
Dig Diary – Thursday, August 6, 2020 Day Twenty-Four We begin today in 2012 – another damp day in which activity on site was hampered by rain. In Structure Ten, however, Mike was excavating...
Anyone who has been on a tour of the Ness will be familiar with the story of the notched slab that started it all. The slab, which had been ploughed up, was thought to...
By Karen Wallis During my first season as Artist in Residence, I was impressed by the range of what could be termed a “find” – from decorated stone on the walls, through the many...
Dig Diary – Wednesday, August 5, 2020 Day Twenty-Three Friday, August 5, 2011, was another day of roof tiles in Structure Eight. After recovering over 370 examples in the building, and recording them meticulously,...
