The Ness of Brodgar Excavations 2009

Tuesday, August 11, 2009
(Previous entries available here)

Its Tuesday straight after lunch and it’s a lovely Orcadian afternoon - therefore its raining! Hoy has disappeared from view and the outlook is fairly miserable on the weather front.

Picture: Sigurd Towrie On the archaeology front, however, as expected lots more fabulous archaeology has been uncovered in only a few hours.

This morning, in Structure 10, some internal furniture was uncovered – a dresser. What is interesting about it is that it is free standing. It is hoped that this feature will resolve itself into a lovely Neolithic dresser - similar to the dressers found in Skara Brae (pictured right) and the nearby Barnhouse Settlement.

However there are great hopes that inside the dresser there might be an elusive carved stone ball. That would be the icing on the cake for an already excellent structure.

Today, I have spent the morning getting to grips with the finds hut. Normally I am one digging the finds out. However, today I have been helping to sort out lots and lots of cow bone and then some more cow bone.

Currently, we have logged about 1,000 small finds. With three weeks still to go before the end of the dig this is a good indication of how much is still to emerge at the Ness of Brodgar. Well for this season anyway!

The new trench opened up in the garden of Lochview - the house beside the site - is working on apace. The large wall that was uncovered yesterday is still big! And lots of lovely pottery and stone tools have been found all around it.

Dr Colin Richards has just arrived as well for a look around the site. So this blogger is away to try and get a chat with him and to discover his impression of the Ness of Brodgar. I also have some more cow bone to sort and labels to write up. The work of the finds hut is never done!

Colin has now also agreed to take us all on a personal tour of his Barnhouse settlement this afternoon, so early finish – just as well as its starting to rain.

Patricia Edwards