Dig Diary – decoration found on slab at Structure Twenty-Seven’s entrance

Thursday, July 18, 2024 (9:16 PM)

Day Twenty
Thursday, July 18, 2024

Jim Richardson and Nick Card on site this afternoon. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

We had another truncated day today, with early morning rain leading to a much-delayed start. Conditions meant that most of the dig team were told to stay away until lunchtime.

When work did get under way we had an incredibly busy day – so much so that your faithful diary writer ran out of time.

We were delighted to welcome photographer, and long-term supporter of the Ness project, Jim Richardson back on site. In 2012, Jim visited the Ness to capture images for a National Geographic feature article.

The resultant images were truly awe-inspiring and, over the years, Jim has been a regular visitor. We’re very pleased that, this year, he was able to travel over from Kansas and see the dig for the last time.

In Trench T, the weather prevented us having a full squad in place so the students from Willamette University were given a day off and given a tour of the Ring of Brodgar by Sigurd.

Work under way in Structure Twenty-Seven's north end this afternoon. (📷 Sigurd Towrie) — Work under way in Structure Twenty-Seven’s north end this afternoon. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

Tom photographing the decorated entrance slab. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

The small team in Structure Twenty-Seven excavated more of the demolition rubble lying over the north end. There, eagle-eyed Chris Gee, working by the surviving entrance orthostat, revealed very fine, incised decoration on the slab.

Most of the stone’s surface has flaked off in the dim and distant past but we hope more of the incised decoration – featuring chevrons, “butterflies”, triangles and crosses – survives lower down.

A section of the stone shows a lot of wear, possibly the result of many thousands of people rubbing against it as they enter the building.

A close-up of one of the entrance slab's incised marks. (📷 Tom O'Brien) — A close-up of one of the entrance slab’s incised marks. (📷 Tom O’Brien)

In Structure Thirty-Four, most of the hearth has now been exposed, which a section of its contents left for micromorphological sampling by Dr Jo McKenzie, who is due to arrive next week.

Structure Thirty-Four's hearth ready for sampling. (📷 Jo Bourne) — Structure Thirty-Four’s hearth ready for sampling. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Nearby, Jenna has opened a sondage (small, deep trench) through Structure One’s northern hearth. She is checking the relationship between the later orthostatic division and the hearth’s construction cut and looking to see if the hearth has been move or is still in its primary position.

Paul and Sigurd discuss the deep, stone-lined pit in Structure Twelve. (📷 Jo Bourne) — Paul and Sigurd investigate the deep, stone-lined pit in Structure Twelve. (📷 Jo Bourne)

We’ll end today in Structure Twelve, where Sigurd has been gradually disappearing into a deep, stone-lined pit.

Last week, he removed a huge quantity of clean, processed clay from the pit’s upper layer. That done, the base stone was removed to reveal yet another deep deposit of midden.

The last of that was finally removed today to reveal a beautifully preserve bone. This needs to be looked at by one of our zoo archaeologists, but it seems to be a fragment of ulna (leg bone) from either a cow or perhaps red deer.

Although the bone seems a little too chunky to be from a deer, what lay beneath was intriguing. The faint outline of what may be an antler.

Unfortunately, this ecofact is not in good condition, so careful excavation will begin tomorrow. We’ll let you know the outcome.