iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Bruce Mann @diggermann.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

True rescue archaeology in action, amazing response from @whatkatiedigs.bsky.social and team to my urgent call for help! The work certainly shows the power of partnership working. The question now is, as we face more coastal change, what else will emerge in the future #scotland #archaeology #IronAge

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Bruce Mann @diggermann.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

Get creative by taking part in a competition to explain what the mysterious Neolithic Carved Stone Balls were used for. The competition is free, there are prizes, and the closing date is 19/09/2025 - see imagination-works.uk/competition/ for details and the online entry #pubarch #archaeology

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Bruce Mann @diggermann.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

Archaeology, wellbeing, enthusiastic volunteers, the Aberdeenshire countryside and the chance to learn about the Mesolithic - see below for more details of this event being delivered by one of our amazing groups in the region. #pubarch

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Bruce Mann @diggermann.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

In case you have missed it, the new #EAC guidelines on #LiDAR in #archaeology have now been published. It was a real joy to be a small part of the team who contributed to this, and a true pan-European collaborative endeavour! Available at zenodo.org/records/1460...

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Bruce Mann @diggermann.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

The sands are shifting once again along the Aberdeenshire coastline, this time exposing a previously unknown WWII coastal defence structure in the sands at Foveran, Newburgh. Not sure if a pillbox or something else. Thanks to the member of the public for taking the time to report it #archaeology

A red brick and concrete structure, part of the WWII coastal defences, is slowly emerging out of a sand dune.

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Bruce Mann @diggermann.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

A nice Friday distraction for you - a snapshot from inside the Culsh Souterrain #Aberdeenshire These Iron Age structures, largely sitting underground, are were probably used for storing food and other goods. This example, emptied in 1850AD by the local farmer, is 10.4m long, 1.8m wide and 1.7m high.

A 19th century hand drawn plan and section of the newly discovered site.

A photograph from inside of the curving, underground structure showing rough stones forming the walls, modern gravel over the earthen floor, and large stone slabs forming the roof.

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Bruce Mann @diggermann.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Here's a little festive present to you all. A wintry aerial photo of New Kinord, Dinnet #Aberdeenshire showing the snow-clad stone footings of an Iron Age settlement. The remains are a mixture of roundhouses, enclosures, and a souterrain (a form of semi-underground structure, probably for storage).

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Bruce Mann @diggermann.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Looking out from the main entrance way of the Early Medieval hillfort which surrounds the striking granite tor of the Mither Tap, Bennachie in #Aberdeenshire Recent excavations by @northernpicts.bsky.social has started to reveal just how important this Pictish stonghold was at the time. #archaeology

The stone paved and walled entrance way through the walls of the fort surrounding the Mither Tap on Bennachie, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. Looking out from the hill, the flat landscape down below shows a patchwork of green and brown fields, and pockets of dark green tree plantations. A cloudy sky with a hint of blue behind is above, the horizon is hazy in the far distance.

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Bruce Mann @diggermann.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Enjoy a selection of medieval faces from Elgin Cathedral #Moray #Scotland The skill of the stone masons never ceases to impress me, especially as these carvings would have been so high up that most people at the time wouldn’t have fully appreciated the level of detail. #Archaeology

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Bruce Mann @diggermann.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

#FindsFriday Known about for years, this early 19thC iron-plate boat, 4.8m long, was finally rescued in 2022, conserved and now displayed in Garioch Heritage Centre, Inverurie #Aberdeenshire Research shows it's an incredibly rare example of an ice-breaker used on the former Inverurie-Aberdeen Canal.

The rusty shell of the boat lies within deep grass before it is moved.

The conserved boat sitting on a custom wooden stand above a blue carpet as now displayed in the Garioch Heritage Centre.

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Bruce Mann @diggermann.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

Metal detectorists range from good to bad. My recent extremes include ones illegally digging on a scheduled castle site through to a very responsible one who identified and reported for disposal a WWI No 15 ball grenade (see image below!) found on a beach. Most are doing the right thing thankfully.

A small rounded object which looks like a stone (but is the grenade) lying amongst rough sand, grit, beach pebbles and shells having just been exposed by digging.

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Bruce Mann @diggermann.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

#standingstonesunday Old Keig Recumbent Stone Circle in Aberdeenshire. Early Bronze Age in date, this is one of c70 surviving examples of this unique site type from NE Scotland. The big stone on side is the recumbent, the upright stones either side the flankers, then pairs of stones form the rest.

A group of upright stones forming part of Old Keig stone circle. Green grass, blue sky, hills in the distance with partial tree cover overhead and around the site.

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Bruce Mann @diggermann.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

For #FindsFriday a flashback to 10 years ago when a farmer, claiming to have found an “interesting stone” during a phone call, had his daughter send me this pic. A very nice surprise! Early Medieval Pictish carved symbol stone from Dandaleith, Moray, Scotland. Now displayed in Elgin Museum.

A carved stone lying in the bucket of a digger having just been dug up in a field

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Bruce Mann @diggermann.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

Small ideas can lead to real change. It started as an idea for helping contractors in #Aberdeenshire now it’s a new standard across Scotland for delivering public benefit and adding social value in developer-led archaeology. We still need to do more, but it’s a start www.algao.org.uk/index.php/ne...

Group of people standing watching a reconstruction of an Iron Age furnace in action

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