Dig Diary – visitors flock to the site on our first open day of the 2024 season
![Site director Nick welcomes the 1,000th visitor to site today, Craig Taylor, and presents him with a copy of Ness of Brodgar: Past, Present & Future. Long-time followers of the diary will know that our earliest aerial images of the site were taken by Craig, back in the days of kite-photography.](https://i0.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024-1000-1.jpg?resize=400%2C563&ssl=1)
We held our first open day of the season today and are delighted by the result. Over 1,200 people made their way to site and there must have been similar numbers over at the Stenness school.
All in all, a busy day with continuous tours together with activities and information at both locations.
Our thanks to everyone who took the time to visit and to all those who helped us in what was an extremely successful day.
In time-honoured fashion, today’s diary will focus on photographs from both the Ness and the Stenness hall.
Although excavation continued across the site (and I hear there were some interesting finds) your diary writer was tied up for most of the day over at Trench T, and the divine Structure Twenty-Seven.
Rest assured we’ll bring you full details tomorrow.
Thank you all again. We spoke to many folk, from all over the world, who had congregated in Orkney to see the Ness dig site.
Particular thanks go to José, an archaeologist from Córdoba, Spain, for his extremely kind words about the Ness and our ongoing efforts to disseminate information about the project.
It really makes it all worthwhile.
On to the photos, these on site, from Jo Bourne:
![Ness of Brodgar: Open to the Public. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i1.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/OD-1024x778.jpg?ssl=1)
![Kevin discusses masonry with visitors. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i2.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/OD1-1024x683.jpg?ssl=1)
![Over at the Boreray sheep stand. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i0.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od3-768x1024.jpg?ssl=1)
![Over at the Boreray sheep stand. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i2.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od2-768x1024.jpg?ssl=1)
![Trench J supervisor showcases his flint knapping skills. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i1.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od4-740x1024.jpg?ssl=1)
![Trench J supervisor showcases his flint knapping skills. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i1.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od5-1024x768.jpg?ssl=1)
![Experimental archaeology: Jackson and his bone-burning hearth. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i2.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od6-1024x811.jpg?ssl=1)
![Experimental archaeology: Jackson's bone-burning hearth. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i1.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od7-817x1024.jpg?ssl=1)
![Dipping into art with Jeanne. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i0.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od8-792x1024.jpg?ssl=1)
![Dipping into art with Jeanne. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i1.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od9-768x1024.jpg?ssl=1)
![International handprints! Shannon and Samata, from New York and Boston. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i1.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od10-973x1024.jpg?ssl=1)
![Excavation under way in Trench J. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i0.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od11-1024x768.jpg?ssl=1)
![Travis, Sinead and Nick in Structure Ten. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i1.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od12-1024x730.jpg?ssl=1)
![Over at Trench T with a tour in operation. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i0.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od13-1024x734.jpg?ssl=1)
![Prehistoric pigment. Youngsters over at Chris Gee's area. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i0.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od14-768x1024.jpg?ssl=1)
![Chip of the old block. Henry with his decorated stone (his mum's our Neolithic art specialist). (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i0.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od16-731x1024.jpg?ssl=1)
![The view from Trench P. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i1.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od15-1024x616.jpg?ssl=1)
![Finds supervisor Anne explains the intricacies of finds recording. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i0.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od17-762x1024.jpg?ssl=1)
![Michaela takes a break from Structure Twelve to showcase ceramics. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i0.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od18-867x1024.jpg?ssl=1)
![Michaela takes a break from Structure Twelve to showcase ceramics. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i2.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od20-1024x768.jpg?ssl=1)
![Talking shells with Holly, one of the UHI Archaeology Institute's PhD students. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i2.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od21-768x1024.jpg?ssl=1)
![Talking shells with Holly, one of the UHI Archaeology Institute's PhD students. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i2.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od19-1024x768.jpg?ssl=1)
And over at the Stenness school:
![Contemplating animal bone. (📷 Tom O'Brien)](https://i2.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od-sh1-1024x683.jpg?ssl=1)
![Finlay Edmonds telling the story from the coo's mooth! (📷 Ingrid Mainland)](https://i2.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od-sh10.jpg?ssl=1)
![Gary talking worked stone tools. (📷 Tom O'Brien)](https://i1.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od-sh2-834x1024.jpg?ssl=1)
![And Martha on geology. (📷 Tom O'Brien)](https://i0.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od-sh3-1024x683.jpg?ssl=1)
![Cecily and Sally talk](https://i2.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od-sh4-1024x683.jpg?ssl=1)
![The archaeology of camera. Looking at the past, present and future of archaeological recording. (📷 Tom O'Brien)](https://i2.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od-sh5-1024x683.jpg?ssl=1)
![Youngsters investigate animal remains. (📷 Tom O'Brien)](https://i2.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od-sh6-1024x683.jpg?ssl=1)
![Zooarchaeology stand in the Stenness school. (📷 Tom O'Brien)](https://i1.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od-sh8-1024x683.jpg?ssl=1)
![Tom and Siobhan from the Orkney Museum. (📷 Tom O'Brien)](https://i1.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od-sh7-1024x742.jpg?ssl=1)
![Or ceramics specialist, Jan, talks pottery with visitors. (📷 Tom O'Brien)](https://i0.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/od-sh9-1024x683.jpg?ssl=1)
We’ll be back tomorrow…
![At the end of a long day...Jo, Alice and Sigurd. (📷 Jo Bourne)](https://i0.wp.com/www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/toor.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&ssl=1)