A decorated stone slab on the floor of Structure Thirty-Two
Dig Diary – Day Thirty
Friday, August 6, 2021
It’s been a quiet sort of day at The Ness, with the only real noise and disturbance coming from a… Read more
Category: Excavation
‘Painted’ stone in Structure Ten and illustrating our ‘puzzling pot’
Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Nine
Thursday, August 5, 2021
So here we are rapidly approaching the end of our penultimate week of excavation.
Knowing the end is night brings a… Read more
A puzzling piece of pottery!
Successfully turned – one of the pottery sherds recovered from outside Structure Twelve’s blocked north-western entrance earlier in the season. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)Dig Diary – Day Twenty-EightWednesday, August 4, 2021Today… Read more
Can you help us cover the site next week?
Do you have a couple of hours (or more) to spare on Thursday, August 12, or Friday, August 13?
Yes, it’s that time of year again when we call for… Read more
Dig Diary Extra: Dr Jo McKenzie successfully recovers first timber sample
A video of Jo recovering the first of two Neolithic timber samples from the interior of Structure Twelve today. Apologies for the sound quality – the Orcadian wind is… Read more
Objects of beauty and a mission accomplished
Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Seven
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Imagine the situation.
At your feet are probably the only two examples of Neolithic timber inside a… Read more
Preparing to recover prehistoric timber from Structure Twelve
Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Six
Monday, August 2, 2021
We have a very special offer today, not, we are sad to say, for diary readers, or even for visitors… Read more
Neolithic timber has survived in Structure Twelve post-holes!
Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Five
Friday, July 30, 2021
Over the years of excavation the Ness has produced so many surprises that some archaeologists thought we had exhausted all the… Read more
Removal of Trench J ‘landmark’ yields animal bone deposit
Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Four
Thursday, July 29, 2021
An air of calm stillness hung over the Ness excavation today.
This was due, in part, to a thick veil of… Read more
Pottery sherds confirm early date for Structure Five
Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Three
Wednesday, July 28, 2021
We have really exciting news today from Structure Five – that enigmatic building huddled just inside the “Great Wall of Brodgar”… Read more
Shoddy building work, new procedures and a fossil fish!
Dig Diary – Day Twenty-Two
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
Structure Twelve’s northern annex. It’s been called many things over the years – an add-on; a porch; a… Read more
Structure Five in 3D
A new, fully-interactive 3D model of Structure Five created by Trench J supervisor Paul Durdin.
Earlier models of the building, the earliest excavated on site to date, can be viewed… Read more
Traces of Neolithic snack found outside Structure Twelve
Dig Diary – Day Twenty-One
Monday, July 26, 2021
Well, here’s something new…rain!
Twenty-four hours ago the weather in Orkney was blistering. Temperatures reached over 70F (21C) and if you… Read more
Finds, floors and a film premiere!
Dig Diary – Day Twenty
Friday, July 23, 2021
The Ness has had many notable “firsts” but today we became one of the very, very few archaeological sites worldwide… Read more
