Excavation

Dig Diary – over 1,400 visitors on site for final Ness open day

Sunday, August 4, 2024

Visitors gather at the Ness. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Day Thirty-Two
Sunday, August 4, 2024

That’s it folks. Our last open day at the Ness of Brodgar. And what a response we had, with 1,425 visitors (give or take a few) on site and equally busy down at the Stenness school.

Our thanks to everyone who turned out, to all who participated in the events at both locations and to the Meet and Greet staff who coped admirably with a huge number of visitors.

To give a flavour of an extremely busy day, here’s a small selection of photos from Jo Bourne and Tom O’Brien.

The view from Trench J. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Visitors at Trench T. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Visitors at Trench T. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Handprints with Jeanne. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Handprints with Jeanne. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Drystone construction with Kevin. (📷 Jo Bourne)

McKenna excavating animal remains at the north end of Structure Twenty-Seven. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Grinding pigment. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Decorating stone with Chris - pigments... (📷 Jo Bourne)

Chris incising decoration. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Kristina in Structure Seventeen. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Visitors outside Structure Twelve. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Emma and Jenna in Structure One. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Cecily and Sally explain sample processing. (📷 Tom O'Brien)

Human remains with Dr Jen Miller. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Replica hominid skulls. (📷 Tom O'Brien)

Investigating pollen with Sue Dyke. (📷 Tom O'Brien)

John Leith and Patricia Long with the camera that photographed the Brodgar Stone in 1925. (📷 Tom O'Brien)

Stone tools with Gary... (📷 Jo Bourne)

And talking geology with Martha. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Eleanor joins the finds hut team to showcase some Ness artefacts. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Aaron sampling in Structure Five. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Making shell bracelets with Holly. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Eimhir tries on her new shell creation. (📷 Jo Bourne)

...and shows her mum. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Mara and her bracelet. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Sisters! (📷 Jo Bourne)

Talking pot with Michaela. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Talking pot with Michaela. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Cordage with Mark. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Dr Ben Elliott demonstrates flintknapping. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Weaving woolen rugs with Marianna. (📷 Jo Bourne)

HES ranger Keith takes a breather. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Neil Leaks, from the Kirbuster Farm Museum, demonstrating the way things were done. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Neil with a length of simmons - straw rope. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Cristina at work in Structure Twenty-Seven's hearth. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Elena planning in Structure Twenty-Seven. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Emilee and Caz lay out a planning frame. (📷 Jo Bourne)

Some of the Meet and Greet team at the end of a busy day. (📷 Jo Bourne)

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