Orkney set to say goodbye to the Ness of Brodgar | 5:01
Orkney.com | 3.65K subscribers | 3,232 views | August 12, 2024
Posted on 08/13/2024 2:41:25 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
After 20 years, excavation work at Orkney's Ness of Brodgar will come to a close at the end of this week (16th August).
Over the last two decades, this sprawling dig in the heart of Orkney's World Heritage Site has become one of the most important archaeological projects in the world. It has revealed a huge complex of Neolithic buildings covering three hectares, with more lying undisturbed across this ancient landscape.
Finds have included beautiful decorated and painted stones, polished axe heads, carved stone balls, and even human and animal bones. But more than that, the excavation has changed the way we think about Neolithic Orkney.
Before the 2024 dig began, it was decided that this summer season would be the last on site, with work reaching a logical stopping point. Instead of covering it with plastic wrap and tyres, ready for next year, the Ness of Brodgar will also be filled in with earth and returned to the green field it used to be, in hibernation once more. This will protect the fragile stonework here, which isn't as durable as the beach stone used to build Skara Brae, giving the next generation of archaeologists the chance to dig down into the secrets of the Ness in the future.
The focus will move on to analysis and research of the finds taken from the site over the years, to help build on that understanding of ancient Orkney and its role in prehistory across northern Europe.
It will be strange to start next summer knowing that the Ness of Brodgar won't be at the heart of things, for locals, visitors, and archaeologists. But this incredible site won't be forgotten.
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
Orkney set to say goodbye to the Ness of Brodgar | 5:01
Orkney.com | 3.65K subscribers | 3,232 views | August 12, 2024
Cool. I always wanted to see Skara Brae after seeing it in “A History of Britain.”
Remarkable bunch of ruins in a pretty isolated (and somewhat chilly) place.
They have a similar approach at Pompeii, only excavating a little at a time to preserve the opportunity for future archeologists.
CC
I figured it was going to come up.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scotland-now/twatt-butts-wynd-peiness-scots-22743428
There’s another one in the Shetlands, I think.
Yup, that’s the best practice. Re-excavating and conservation work are probably going to continue at Pompeii, although there have been some recent new digs too.
work at Orkney’s Ness of Brodgar will come to a close at the end of this week
Amazing how it lives on in our language!
Cuteness
Perkiness
Silliness
I understand the same procedure was used at Sutton Hoo - leaving part of the site untouched for future archologists:
“A substantial part of the gravefield was left unexcavated for the benefit of future investigators and as yet unknown scientific methods.”
It's the usual practice. Keeps a tight focus, keeps the budget under control, and as the man sez, someday there will be better technology, analogous to today vs pre-RC dating, pre-xrays, pre-ground penetrating radar, etc. The only time a site gets completely cleared is during rescue digs on construction sites. That's done in places with crowded strata, like Rome, Israel, Greece, Turkey...
Somewhat? That's tongue-in-cheek, right? It's as far north as Glacier Bay, Alaska.
I've been to John o' Groats, which is about 10 miles south of the Orkneys. It was July, and I was wearing long woolies with a goosedown parka. In fact I spent a week in the Highlands and never took off the woolies except to bathe.
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