The walls of Brodgar – updated again
During the 2022 excavation season another section of the northern boundary wall, or “Great Wall of Brodgar”, was exposed.
The page focusing on the two walls that flanked the Ness… Read more
Category: Excavation
The real treasures of an archaeological excavation
A new blog post from PhD candidate Julia Becher, who is analysing lipids on pottery sherds from the Ness of Brodgar as part of the international ChemArch project. Read more
2022’s top ten: rethinking Structure Eight’s original entrance
Unlike other Ness buildings, Structure Eight stands out as having a single entrance.
Measuring over 18 metres long by 9.5 metres wide, Structure Eight is the largest of the piered… Read more
2022’s top ten: paved area between Structures Seventeen and Eighteen
Structures Seventeen and Eighteen are two earlier buildings (c3200BC) that pre-date, and lie beneath, Structure Eight (c3100BC).
A focus of the 2022 excavation season was to reveal more of the… Read more
2022’s top ten: another ‘butterfly’ stone
The “butterfly” motif has been found incised into numerous stones and surfaces across the site, and this year was no exception.
The stone slab pictured above had been incorporated into… Read more
2022’s top ten: two more thumb-pots
We have a growing collection of tiny “thumb pots” at the Ness, and another two were found this summer within two days of each other.
The first came from the… Read more
Harking back to summer with the sounds of the Ness
This was one of the special events at the Ness in 2022, when Suzy Angus made us a sound poem of the excavations.
Pour a glass of something you love,… Read more
2022’s top ten: multiple post-holes in Structure Five
Two covered depressions on either side of the blocked south-western entrance were found to be large, well-built post-holes, indicating that the doorway was also flanked by a pair of substantial… Read more
2022’s top ten: human remains between Structures Eight and Seventeen
Excavation of an orthostatic box in 2022, introduced an intriguing new element into the relationship between Structures Seventeen and Eight.
The box – which was clearly, given its contents, not… Read more
2022’s top ten: the whalebone artefact
We remain in Trench J for today’s Top Ten entry.
A short distance to the north-west of the hearth mentioned on Saturday, and securely embedded into the floor of Structure… Read more
2022’s top ten: Trench J’s trio of polished stone axes
In 2022, Trench J maintained its reputation for producing polished stone axes – with three beautiful examples adding to its growing total.
At the start of the season the attention… Read more
2022’s top ten: second set of ‘Great Wall’ steps
The 2018 excavation in Trench J revealed what look curiously like a set of steps tied into the inner face of the northern boundary wall – the “Great Wall of… Read more
2022’s top ten: Structure Twenty-Seven’s north-western wall
As 2022 ticks away, we thought it would be a fine time to look back over our favourite finds and discoveries over the year.
We’ve selected ten and will post… Read more
The rise and fall of the Ness complex
An update looking at the biography of the Ness of Brodgar complex – from its earliest days to eventual abandonment.
Click here to read.… Read more
An unfinished ‘butterfly’ slab from Structure Seventeen?
Over the past 17 years, excavation at the Ness of Brodgar has revealed hundreds of examples of Neolithic “art”.
These vary from light, ephemeral markings to deeply, and precisely, inscribed… Read more
That’s all folks! See you next year, funding permitting
The 2022 season at the Ness of Brodgar is now officially over.
Today was spent covering all the archaeology and we’re delighted to announce we managed it all in one… Read more
