Dig Diary – six buildings represented in one square metre outside Structure Twelve

Friday, August 2, 2024 (10:16 PM)

Excavation in action in the north end of Structure Twenty-Seven. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

Day Thirty-One
Friday, August 2, 2024

Excavating a site like the Ness brings many challenges, not least the complexity of the archaeology.

There’s multiple layers of buildings, each with their own different phases of use and modification. Trying to piece together the history of a structure is no easy task, which is why you’ll often see supervisors hunched over hundreds of context sheets, plans and records.

Structure Twelve (Jim Rylatt) — Structure Twelve. (📷 Jim Rylatt)

It’s no secret that Structure Twelve has a particularly complicated history. A situation that has left supervisor Jim exclaiming, on numerous occasions, that he yearns for a “nice simple building with a straightforward, flat floor”.

But he doesn’t have one.

And just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, the tangled biography of Structure Twelve and its predecessors, once again, grew more complex today.

Back outside the building’s south-western corner this afternoon, Jim was further exploring the morass of masonry between it and the trench section.

The result?

The remains of six buildings, one on top of another, in a single square metre of the trench!

Outside the south-western corner of Structure Twelve this afternoon. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

There’s Structure Twelve (obviously) and directly beneath it are the remains of another earlier construction (2). Outside, and slightly higher in the sequence, is a third – probably a building contemporary with Structure Twenty Eight and robbed of stone during Twelve’s construction.

Underneath are another two earlier constructions (4 and 5). And the cherry on the cake? Back at the top, outside Twelve a semi-circular area of rough walling (6) that might relate to a later addition to the site.

The multiple buildings around Twelve's south-western end. (📷 Sigurd Towrie) — The multiple buildings around Twelve’s south-western end. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

In such a small window we can’t say that all these were monumental constructions on a par with Structure Twelve – some may relate to annexes or smaller outbuildings attached to, or associated with, others.

But what it shows is just how complex the situation in this corner of Trench P is – a complexity that is mirrored across other parts of the site.

Leah, on her last day on site, with the substantial piece of pumice from Structure Five. (📷 Paul Durdin)

Travis' fine hammerstone in the Structure Twenty sondage. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

In Structure Five’s north-eastern extension, another scrappy, poorly built hearth has emerged – the latest in a series of three found in the area. Meanwhile, also in Five, Leah recovered one of the largest pieces of pumice found on site to date.

The finds hut has been awash with animal bone again today, as tray after tray arrives from Trench T.

Aden and Tom and the bone deposit at Twenty-Seven's north-western corner. (📷 Sigurd Towrie) — Aden and Tom and the bone deposit at Twenty-Seven’s north-western corner. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

The animal remains continue to come up around the north-western corner of Structure Twenty-Seven as well as the area covered by the huge, prone slab lifted yesterday.

Its removal from the trench revealed another large bone deposit – this one probably relating to the one outside the building – both of which may be the aftermath of a decommissioning feast akin to that at Structure Ten.

Structure Twenty-Seven's north-eastern orthostat with the packing stones revealed at its base. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

The entrance to the 'mega-drain' alongside the remains of Structure Thirty-Four's hearth. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

After careful recording, the stone layer under the shallow ash deposit in Twenty-Seven’s hearth was also removed today. We had wondered whether we’d find another, earlier, layer but instead found a single stone slab that had been carefully worked to fit into the space perfectly.

It was also lifted but, again, there was no evidence of earlier use of the hearth beneath. Work is ongoing, but, again, this does seem to indicate that the building (or at least its fireplace) was not in use for a long time.

On saying that, the material under the slab may be a levelling layer inserted over earlier hearth material before its insertion. Excavation is ongoing, so we’ll see.

A levelling layer in Twenty-Seven's hearth? (📷 Sigurd Towrie) — A levelling layer in Twenty-Seven’s hearth? (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

The notion of a short life for Structure Twenty-Seven is an intriguing one, particularly given the edge wear noted on the surviving orthostat that formed part of the building’s entrance.

This suggested it was in place long enough for people passing through to leave their mark – smoothing and wearing its surface.

However, given the wear noted on the prone orthostats sunk into the floor along the inner walls to support stone cladding, it is also possible that the entrance slab was already worn before being incorporated into Twenty-Seven. Perhaps sourced from an earlier building elsewhere.

2023: The two north-eastern orthostats and dividers. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

We’ll end today’s diary with a reminder that our second open day takes place on Sunday, August 4, on site and in the Stenness school from 10am-4pm.

We hope to see many of you on the day, so here’s a taste of what’s on offer.

On site, we’ll be joined by the Historic Environment Scotland World Heritage Site rangers and running continuous tours of all three trenches. Our dig team will be also working on Sunday so you’ll be able to see archaeology in action.

On-site