There is no doubt that Orkney was a very special place during the Neolithic period – its remarkable range of prehistoric structures and ceremonial sites bear eloquent witness to this – and at its heart, both literally and figuratively, lies the Ness of Brodgar. This site occupies a central position within the Orkney archipelago, lying between the Lochs of Stenness and Harray, in the middle of the islands’ most imposing complex of monuments. It seems clear that this was a place of pivotal importance to Neolithic Orcadians, and perhaps further afield.
Since our last major report in CA seven years ago (see CA 241), ongoing excavation has revealed a much more complex story than could ever have been imagined at the project’s outset. We have pieced together a site biography that spans millennia, from traces of Mesolithic activity to the site’s Neolithic heyday, through to the early Bronze Age, with a later episode of use in the Iron Age. Our investigations have expanded greatly since their modest start over a decade ago, but the excavations still only cover less than 10% of the Ness. It is a site that keeps on giving, with much more to uncover – geophysical survey continues to reveal new features, while excavation has revealed a deeply stratified, multiphase complex that is presently without parallel in north Atlantic Europe.
At its zenith, in the main phase that we are currently exploring (dating from c.3100 BC), the Ness was dominated by huge free-standing buildings enclosed by a massive stone wall. This was much more than a domestic settlement: the size, quality, and architecture of these structures, together with evidence for tiled roofs, coloured walls, and over 800 examples of decorated stone – not to mention the rich assemblages of artefacts recovered from them – all add to an overall sense of the Ness being special in some way. Although the site’s function no doubt changed over time, during this peak period we can see that it was a place of meeting, of coming together for people from all over Orkney and probably from outside the archipelago too. Why? The archaeology suggests that they were feasting and exchanging ideas and objects, while the site may have also hosted rituals and celebrations of the ‘political’ and celestial events that were important to this evidently vibrant society.
