PhD student Sophie Durbin looks back on her summer research trip to Orkney.

By Bernie Bell At the end of what was thought to be the last season of digging at the Ness of Brodgar, the People of the Ness placed their hand-prints onto pieces of fabric which were sown together and made into a display which was shown with a film of the ‘last’ season’s dig,  made by Lucy Carr McClave. …

On Saturday, the final day of the 2026 Orkney Archaeology Festival, we were delighted by the number of visitors to our open day in Kirkwall.

A series of drop in events is to take place this month about how the future of Orkney's UNESCO World Heritage site - 'The Heart of Neolithic Orkney' - is planned to develop. The public are encouraged to see what is being proposed and share their views: Monday 21 September, Old Library Kirkwall, 5pm - 7pm Tuesday 22 September, Stenness Community Hall, 6pm - 8pm…

A  new excavation after all this time……how could we not be interested?   So we went along on Sunday the 30th while the Community Archaeology  Weekend was taking place.

It was washed up on the rocks below the cliffs of Rothiesholm in 1808 and if it was a basking shark then it was fifteen feet longer than anything ever recorded. And you can see a small piece of it in ...

The processing of environmental samples from the site has produced a second tiny bead fragment from Structure Five.

ALT: Frank N Furter Dancing - Rhps

Today, Sunday, is the last opportunity to visit this year's Flower Festival from the Kirkwall Flower Arrangement Club at St Magnus Cathedral. The theme is 'Myths and Legends'. No Odysseus here but: Lady Godiva, Robin Hood & his Merry Men, Assipattle and the Stoorworm, The Little People, Fairie Folk, The Lost City of Atlantis, The Green Man, King Arthur, Phoenix, Selkies, The Fountain of Youth, Dragon, Breckness Mermaid, Robert the Bruce, The Dancing Giants of Brodgar, The Tooth Fairy, and Hogboon.

Sarah Carter on another pottery shed with stamped decoration from the midden in the vicinity of Structure Forty.

Week three drew to a close in typical Ness style - with a decorated stone...

A 3d model of Joanne Greave's reconstructed pot from Structure Thirty-Four.

Hearth deposits were shallow, more foundation slabs emerged, and excavation confirmed a surrounding gully - all adding to our structure's "very odd” character.

By Bernie Bell. I never thought I’d be writing that!   Excavations at the Ness of Brodgar were thought to have ended with the digging season of 2024. Then Time Team stepped in and did Ground Penetrating Radar which appeared to show something extra-ordinary. The People of the Ness kept their cards close to their chests (pun totally intended), and revealed nothing but the fact that there would be a limited short term dig in July 2026.

Today, we can say with confidence that we are looking at a hearth at the centre of a Late Neolithic building in Trench W.

After 20 years of excavation, the UHI Archaeology Institute’s research dig at The Cairns has now come to an end. With the work on the site now completed, it’s time for site director Martin Carruthers to sum up…