So, it’s farewell from all of us. . .

And so all too soon it is time to say adieu till next year. We are all still beavering away in order to get the site ready for the winter before we “abandon” site this Friday – final photographs, planning and recording – and the replacing of several thousand sandbags (to support and protect some of the masonry and trench sections), acres of polythene sheeting and hundreds of stones (to keep the polythene in place) – one of the less glamorous aspects of archaeology, but totally necessary to protect the site from the ravages of the Orcadian winter – any volunteers?

Thank you all for following us on the web (so kindly hosted once again by Sigurd Towrie) and hope that some of you may have had the chance to visit us in person.

Once again the Ness has not failed to excite, puzzle and amaze us all – we hope that we have managed to pass on at least a hint of some of these feelings onto our “readership”.

As ever, the excavations at the Ness of Brodgar would not have been possible without the support of numerous bodies, organizations and individuals from every corner of the globe – the Orkney Islands Council, the Russell Trust, the Robert Kiln Trust, LEADER European funding, the BBC, Orkney Builders, Beedie Sheds, Historic Scotland, Orkney College (UHI) and the Orkney Archaeology Society (OAS).

We also like to single out the numerous volunteers who came from all round the world to participate – Canada, USA, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, Australia and all over the UK.

Many thanks also to the numerous OAS volunteers who helped on site, not only with excavation and in the finds hut, but also in the OAS shop.

Special thanks also to Marion Chesters and Martha Johnson for their very special assistance in the finds huts, and Neil and Rosemary McCance for supplying a never-ending number of prepared, numbered finds bags.

And, of course, many thanks also to all the numerous members of the excavation team for all their hard work over the six weeks – staff, students and volunteers alike.

Without the assistance of the Historic Scotland Rangers, Sandra, Elaine and Keith, the Ness experience would have been a much lesser experience for the 5,000 plus visitors this year – especially regarding the afternoon daily tours and the new “excavation club” – they are truly indispensible!! Helen Woodsford Dean should also be congratulated with helping to initiate many youngsters into the wonders of archaeology.

And finally the whole team would like to pass on their gratitude to the landowners Ola and Arnie Tait of Brodgar Farm and Carole Hoey of Lochview, not just for allowing us to excavate on their land but also their interest, hospitality and support.

And so to next year, with plans already starting to take shape.

If you wish to be involved, or support us, please contact nick.card@uhi.ac.uk. Look forward to seeing you all in 2011!