The Ness of Brodgar: As it Stands. (2020)
In the early years of the Ness project, we thought a pair of connecting walls ran between the site’s northern and southern boundary walls, enclosing the Neolithic complex – at least for a period of its long history.
It was geophysical survey that had initially suggested the presence of the boundary walls, something confirmed when portions were revealed by excavation.
The surveys also suggested they ran the width of the isthmus before turning inwards at their ends. This interpretation was also confirmed in Trench J, where the exposed northern end of the “Great Wall” curved beautifully to the south-east.
This, together with the geophysical responses, led to the idea that the northern and southern boundary walls were connected to form an enclosure around the main structures – something that fitted the pattern noted at other Neolithic settlement sites in Orkney.
But subsequent excavation drew a blank.
At the “Great Wall”, for example, excavation in 2018 showed that although its northern end curved and ran south-east for a short distance, it then stopped abruptly and deliberately.
As expected, the boulder clay beneath the wall had revealed large depressions caused by the weight of its monumental construction. Beyond the wall end there were none – the original ground surface was unmarked, which it would not have been had the wall continued but had been dismantled or robbed in prehistory.
Meanwhile, aerial photographs from 2016 appeared to show cropmarks that suggested long, linear features following the path of the hypothetical connecting walls.
To investigate this, two trenches – X and Y – were opened at the western edge of the Ness in 2016 and 2018. Neither produced conclusive evidence of a connecting wall. From both sides of the Ness excavation was casting serious doubt on the presence of walling.
So much so that we abandoned the idea.
Until Trench Z’s excavation in 2024.
This little trench was slotted over a portion of Trench I, which was opened in 2005. The goal in 2024 was to further investigate an early stalled building, Structure Two, and see how it related to Structure Five. Constructed around 3300BC, Five was the earliest excavated building on site.
3d model of Trench Z, showing the remains of Structure Two. (📷 Paul Durdin)
But the work on Structure Two was soon eclipsed by an unexpected discovery.
While exposing the building, traces of huge boulders began to emerge to the north-east. These formed part of a line that was remarkably similar to the construction method previously encountered in the “Great Wall”. There, between an inner and outer face, the wall core was formed by a row of gigantic rocks.
Suspicions we had a continuation of the northern boundary wall were confirmed when the trench was extended north-eastwards and an outer wall-face, again with clear parallels to the “Great Wall”, was revealed.
Could it be the missing link? Or at least a section of it?
Sure enough, the removal of a section of Structure Two revealed an inner wall face beneath. We now had a 4.5-metre-wide section of walling made up of two faces with a core of boulders.
Based on the similarities in the “new” wall’s construction and its width, we have no doubt it must be an extension of the northern boundary wall. How it relates to the “Great Wall”, however, is not so clear. Did the wall end encountered in Trench J just mark a break? Another entrance perhaps?
And how far does the “new” wall run? Was the complex enclosed as was originally thought?
To answer these questions, we plan to carry out more detailed geophysical surveys in 2025, including high-resolution ground penetrating radar (GPR), which will hopefully shed more light on the subject.
GPR creates an image of underground features in three dimensions and allows them to be mapped, giving an estimate of size, shape, and depth.
