Visitors vote Skara Brae a must-see site
13/2/12 •
Visitors to Skara Brae have voted it one of the “must-see” attractions in the British Isles. The Neolithic settlement, in the West Mainland parish of Sandwick, is the best preserved group of prehistoric houses in Western Europe and was one of only eight visitor attractions in the UK to receive a merit award, as voted [...]
Recent Posts
Ness of Brodgar Excavation Dates 2012
01/2/12 •
The 2012 excavations on the Ness of Brodgar are due to begin on July 16, running until August 24. Site tours will commence two days after excavations resume, on July 18, running until August 22. Details of times will follow in due course. As in previous years, an online excavation diary will be maintained at [...]
Resurrecting the Neolithic priesthood…
10/1/12 •
Ness of Brodgar discoveries vindicate 35-year-old theory, says prehistorian The remarkable archaeological discoveries on the Ness of Brodgar are proof that an elite group of astronomer priests once held sway over Orkney. That’s according to Dr Euan MacKie, an archaeologist and prehistorian, who visited the ongoing excavations on the Ness last summer. In 1977, Dr [...]
Orkney landscape project shortlisted for national archaeological award
08/12/11 •
Following the Ness of Brodgar’s win earlier this year, a second archaeological project in Orkney is in the running for the title of 2012 Current Archaeology Research Project of the Year. Settlement under the Sand has been looking at the landscape around Birsay and Snusgar, by Skaill Bay, in Sandwick, where one of the focuses has been the finely [...]
Anonymous benefactor gifts Ness of Brodgar property to the people of Orkney
23/11/11 •
An anonymous benefactor, with a strong interest in the archaeologial excavations on the Ness of Brodgar, has gifted a property in Stenness to the people of Orkney. The house, Lochview, is immediately adjacent to the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology (ORCA) excavations and, over the years, it has become clear to the archaeologists that the [...]
Radiocarbon dates point to a millennium of activity on the Ness of Brodgar
27/10/11 •
The site of the prehistoric complex on the Ness of Brodgar was in use for around 1,000 years. New radiocarbon dates from two areas of the ongoing excavations show the Stenness site was occupied from at least 3200BC to 2300BC. The earliest date came from deposits under the “Lesser Wall of Brodgar” — the southern [...]
Do survey results show a massive prehistoric monument under the water of the Stenness Loch?
03/10/11 •
Survey work in the Loch of Stenness has revealed what could be a massive prehistoric monument lying underwater to the south of the Ring of Brodgar. The underwater “anomaly” has come to light in a project looking at prehistoric sea level change in Orkney. The project, The Rising Tide: Submerged Landscape of Orkney, is a [...]
New finds in ‘cathedral’ building reignite age-old question – Stone Age dresser or altar?
16/9/11 •
“A curious feature which is found in [Skara Brae’s] chambers three and six is an arrangement of two stone shelves, erected one above the other and abutting against one of the stone walls. “They remind one of double berths in a ship, but they were used, more probably, for storing pottery utensils in, when not [...]
Dig team find proof there were Picts on the Brough of Deerness before the vikings
11/8/11 •
The story of life on the viking settlement on the Brough of Deerness, its purpose and the people who lived there, is gradually beginning to unfold. However, as the third season of excavations on the site drew to a close last month, archaeologists say it has yet to give up all its secrets. One of [...]
About a (Brodgar) Boy…
02/8/11 •
First there was the Orkney Venus – or the Westray Wife, as she’s known in Orkney. And now we’ve got the Brodgar Boy – a small, Stone Age figurine found at the ongoing Ness of Brodgar excavations in Stenness. What was hailed as Scotland’s earliest representation of a human was unearthed in Westray in the [...]
Older Posts
- Sanday symbol stone is a first for Orkney
- Back on the Ness of Brodgar…
- Rousay’s heritage snatched from the sea
- Archaeologists return to the Brough of Deerness
- Updated Ness of Brodgar site plan and 3d panoramas online
- In search of Sanday’s lost ‘coronation stone’
- Does flint axe picked up on an Orkney shoreline predate the Ice Age?
- Medieval artefacts found in East Mainland
- Archaeologists are back at Wyre’s Neolithic settlement
- Opening a window on life and death at the ‘Tomb of the Otters’
Featured Categories
Neolithic»
13/2/12 •
Visitors vote Skara Brae a must-see site01/2/12 •
Ness of Brodgar Excavation Dates 201210/1/12 •
Resurrecting the Neolithic priesthood…23/11/11 •
Anonymous benefactor gifts Ness of Brodgar property to the people of Orkney27/10/11 •
Radiocarbon dates point to a millennium of activity on the Ness of Brodgar03/10/11 •
Do survey results show a massive prehistoric monument under the water of the Stenness Loch?16/9/11 •
New finds in ‘cathedral’ building reignite age-old question – Stone Age dresser or altar?
Iron Age»
11/8/11 •
Dig team find proof there were Picts on the Brough of Deerness before the vikings20/7/11 •
Sanday symbol stone is a first for Orkney14/7/11 •
Rousay’s heritage snatched from the sea03/6/11 •
In search of Sanday’s lost ‘coronation stone’03/2/11 •
Eight research projects share OIC’s £50k archaeology fund29/7/10 •
Coastal erosion helping fill in the historical gaps29/7/10 •
Stromness earth-house hints at major prehistoric settlement
Viking»
08/12/11 •
Orkney landscape project shortlisted for national archaeological award11/8/11 •
Dig team find proof there were Picts on the Brough of Deerness before the vikings14/7/11 •
Rousay’s heritage snatched from the sea21/6/11 •
Archaeologists return to the Brough of Deerness26/5/11 •
Medieval artefacts found in East Mainland03/2/11 •
Eight research projects share OIC’s £50k archaeology fund27/1/10 •
Delving into the history of ‘things’
