Structure Five – updated and rewritten
Our understanding of Structure Five, the oldest building excavated on site to date, has come on in leaps and bounds.
So we’ve completely updated its entry to reflect this.… Read more
The Ness of Brodgar complex
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.
Wednesday wildlife – look to the skies
A little later than usual, but here’s this week’s selection of photographs from site director Nick Card.… Read more
2022 excavation at the Ness commended in Scottish Parliament
Orkney MSP Liam McArthur has lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament welcoming the successful completion of another excavation season at the Ness of Brodgar.
This is the third time… Read more
Wednesday wildlife – stoats, skarfies and selkies
This week’s photographs from site director Nick Card.… Read more
Structures Seventeen and Eighteen updated
Structures Seventeen and Eighteen are two earlier buildings that pre-date, and lie beneath, Structure Eight. During the 2022 excavation season, one of the focuses was to reveal more of the… Read more
Link: Prehistoric Orkney grain sheds light on Neolithic farming in Scotland
Our UHI Archaeology Institute colleagues Dr Antonia Thomas and Dan Lee are the co-authors of a new paper published in the journal Antiquity.
Between 2006 and 2013, Antonia and Dan… Read more
Wednesday wildlife – creatures of land, sky and water
This week’s selection of wildlife photographs from site director Nick Card.… Read more
An unfinished ‘butterfly’ slab from Structure Seventeen?
Over the past 17 years, excavation at the Ness of Brodgar has revealed hundreds of examples of Neolithic “art”.
These vary from light, ephemeral markings to deeply, and precisely, inscribed… Read more
Link: ‘Neolithic culinary traditions revealed by cereal, milk and meat lipids in pottery from Scottish crannogs’
A team of scientists, led by the University of Bristol, has uncovered intriguing new insights into the diet of people living in Neolithic Britain and found evidence that cereals, including… Read more
Wednesday wildlife returns…
After its summer break, Wednesday wildlife is back with a selection of images from site director Nick Card.
For new readers, the Ness of Brodgar is renowned for its wildlife… Read more
Two new books from Mark Edmonds
News just in of two new books by our friend Mark Edmonds, Visiting Professor at the UHI Archaeology Institute and Research Coordinator at the Ness of Brodgar.
The first, After… Read more
Science Festival premiere for Ness of Brodgar artist’s film
A film created by Ness of Brodgar artist in residence Dr Karen Wallis was premiered today as part of the 32nd Orkney International Science Festival.
Since 2016, Karen has… Read more
Micromorphology at the Ness on the agenda at Budapest conference
Micromorphologist Dr Jo McKenzie will deliver a paper on the Ness of Brodgar at the European Association of Archaeologists annual meeting in Budapest tomorrow, Thursday, September 1.
The paper, co-authored… Read more
The walls of Brodgar – an update
Among the tasks undertaken during the 2022 excavation season was exposing another section of the northern boundary wall, or “Great Wall of Brodgar”.
The first of our post-excavation website updates… Read more
That’s all folks! See you next year, funding permitting
The 2022 season at the Ness of Brodgar is now officially over.
Today was spent covering all the archaeology and we’re delighted to announce we managed it all in one… Read more
A summer of excavation – photographs from Tim Winterburn
That’s it all over for another year – well, not quite, the protective covers will start going on again today.
But as a reminder of this season’s excavation, take a… Read more
Dig Diary – It’s all over for another year
Day Thirty-Three
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
Well, it has arrived. The end of excavation for this year.
The black plastic sheeting and the tyres have been moved into position for… Read more
Dig Diary Extra – Trench J in 3d
A new annotated 3d model of Trench J, featuring Structure Five and the northern boundary wall.… Read more
