The Ness of Brodgar Excavation

Nes of Brodgar Open to the Public this summer

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-Six 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

News

Sunday, July 25, 2021

Over one-million page views for Ness of Brodgar website

The Ness of Brodgar website has reached a milestone – reaching, and rocketing past, one million page views. Technically, the dig diary broke that barrier many years ago, but in 2017 we switched to our own domain after being hosted by Orkneyjar.com… Continue reading

Art Hut

Saturday, July 24, 2021

From the Art Hut – ‘Intent’

Owing to the Ness dig being scaled back this year because of Covid restrictions, I have again moved my artist residency to Instagram posts during the main weeks of the excavation.… Continue reading

Excavation

Friday, July 23, 2021

Finds, floors and a film premiere!

Dig Diary – Day Twenty Friday, July 23, 2021 The Ness has had many notable “firsts” but today we became one of the very, very few archaeological sites worldwide to host a film premiere.… Continue reading

Excavation

Thursday, July 22, 2021

Dig Diary Extra – views from above

A selection of this afternoon’s drone photographs from Structure Twelve supervisor Jim Rylatt.… Continue reading

Excavation

Thursday, July 22, 2021

Saddle quern fragment recovered from Structure Twelve

Dig Diary – Day Nineteen Thursday, July 22, 2021 We’ll begin today’s diary in Structure Ten, where dig director Nick and supervisors Jo and Sinead got together to formulate a strategy for tackling the enigma of missing floors in sections of the building.… Continue reading

Artefacts / Ceramics / Excavation

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Dig Diary Extra – the ‘striking piece of fine pottery’ from outside Structure Twelve

Excavation

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Is Structure Five earlier than the ‘Great Wall of Brodgar’?

Dig Diary – Day Eighteen Wednesday, July 21, 2021 We’ll start today with three interesting developments in Structure Twelve. Working just outside the south wall Ole has found a striking piece of fine pottery.… Continue reading

Excavation

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Early buildings, special visitors and Structure Five gets more complex

Dig Diary – Day Seventeen Tuesday, July 20, 2021 There are many things in this world, dear reader, that we thought we would never see.… Continue reading

3D Model / Excavation

Monday, July 19, 2021

It’s large, it’s Grooved Ware and now available to view as a 3D model

Dig Diary – Day Sixteen Monday, July 19, 2021 We have a real treat for you today. You will recall we told you last week about the very large Grooved Ware pot which Chris excavated outside the blocked-up north-west entrance to Structure Twelve.… Continue reading