The site has provided evidence of decorated stone slabs, a stone wall 6 metres (20ft) thick with foundations, and a large building described as a Neolithic temple.[5] Activity at the site can be dated to around 3500–3400 BC.[6] By 2200BC, the site had been closed down and partially dismantled.[7]
Location
General plan of "Trench P" - the largest of several trenches on the site
Located off the West Mainland of Orkney, The Ness of Brodgar is the name of a peninsula that separates the freshwater Loch of Harray and brackish Loch of Stenness. Surrounded by windswept grassy plains and farmland, the Ness of Brodgar is located within the Heart of Neolithic OrkneyWorld Heritage Site, an area revered for its grouping of well preserved neolithic monuments. The site spans about three hectares (about seven and a half acres), and contains the remains of a complex of Neolithic stone structures dating back to around 3000 BC.
Researchers claim that during the early Neolithic period, during the time the Ness of Brodgar buildings would have been constructed, the landscape surrounding the Ness of Brodgar and its neighbouring lakes was very different. Loch Stenness is predicted to have been less brackish, and the nearby landscape would have contained more mixed forests of birch, hazel, willow, oak, and pine.[9] Both lakes would have had lower water levels, leading to theories that there may be additional buried Neolithic buildings beneath the lakes today. Over time, rising sea levels, storm surges, and agricultural land development changed the surrounding landscape into what it is today.[10] People from Skara Brae would have been able to walk to the Ness of Brodgar, watch or take part in ritual activity and walk home within a day.[11]
To the southeast are the Standing Stones of Stenness and to the north-west is the Ring of Brodgar. A short bridge connects these two sites. Also visible from the site are, to the east, the chambered cairn at Maeshowe and, to the southeast, the Barnhouse Settlement. A couple of kilometres northwest of the Ring of Brodgar is the Ring of Bookan, a third henge, with associated mounds.[12] The Neolithic village at Skara Brae lies a few kilometres away, as does the chambered cairn at Unstan. More archaeology is likely submerged beneath the lochs.[13]
Structures
The structures at Brodgar are numbered in the order of discovery. Due to changing interpretations and discoveries about the different structures, some of the numbered buildings were renamed, resulting in the current numbered titles not being sequential. The structures currently visible as of 2026 are structures 1, 5, 8, 10, 12, 14, 26, 27, and part of 32.The structures at Brodgar are numbered in the order of discovery. As more of the site was uncovered and the interpretations improved, some numbers went out of use.[14] There are also an array of past structures that used to exist or are beneath the current structures. Some buildings were destroyed, modified, or built on top of. The buildings that are no longer visible include structures 7, 11, 9, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 33, 34, and 36.
The structures at the Ness of Brodgar are made of flagstone, a sedimentary rock found abundantly throughout Orkney.[15] Flagstone is easily split into flat stones and was therefore a good material for fine building work using Neolithic tools. Some of the stone found on site is too thin for floor tiles or wall building, and is understood as the earliest evidence ever found of roofs.[16]
Structures
Structure 1
Structure 1Structure1 in July 2016
Structure 1 was discovered in 2003, and was the first structure in the Ness of the Brodgar site to be found. Built on top of structure forty, what remains of the building are well preserved metre high walls, and featured over 70 examples of Neolithic art. Further evidence shows that the structure had been rebuilt and remodeled at least three times. It appears to have been built on top of the remains of an earlier structure, structure 40.[17][18]
The original structure of Structure 1 was built around 3100 BC, and measured around 15 metres long and 10 metres wide. The structure was dual-cruciform, with a set of piers connected to the side walls and partitioned by orthostats in the floor. The piers separated the building in half, and each side had a hearth, and its own offset entrance doorways. The south entrance featured decorated stones.
Some of the individual stones of structure1 were painted in yellows, reds, and oranges using ochre pigment made of haematite mixed with animal fat, milk or eggs.[19][20][21] This is the earliest discovery in Britain of evidence that Neolithic people used paint to decorate their buildings.
Structure1 has a complex history and a The official guide to the dig suggests that this structure appears to have been central to the site. Originally it was more than 15 metres (49ft) long, but was radically rebuilt within about a century of its first construction: two doors were blocked up, a new door was inserted and a new wall built. It was decorated with many pieces of stone artwork, some of which were internal to the walls and would never have been seen while the building was in use.[17]
Around 200 years after its initial creation, Structure 1 underwent major construction. Most of the partition slabs were removed, and a curved wall was built across the middle of the northern room, reducing the size of the structure. Three large orthostats were inserted into the curved wall, giving the building a cruciform layout. Both original doorways were sealed, and a new one was made on the eastern wall. Roof tiles discovered beneath the new wall suggest that the roof had caved in or had been collapsed intentionally.
In 2015, the bones of a baby, which died around the time of birth, were unearthed in a recess of this building.[22]
Structure 5 was discovered in 2005 and was the first structure to be excavated. It was built around 3300 BC, and is the largest non-funerary construction found in Orkney from the Early Neolithic period ever found. Excavated in 2008, only some of the building is exposed. The exposed sides of the building measure 16 metres long and can get up to 7.5 metres wide. A geophysical survey of the area suggests that there are 4.5 metres of building buried past the southwestern edge of the trench, making the structure 5 over 20 metres long.[24]
The exposed portion of structure 5 consists of a long, boat-shaped room, and is measured to be 7.5 metres at the widest point and over 20 metres long. A third of the building is still buried underground, causing the exact length of the building to be difficult to measure. The building, like many others at the site, has gone through several periods of reconstruction and modification.
Originally, structure 5 was rectangular in shape and much smaller, being 7.5 metres wide and over 14 metres long. It was built on top of the no longer existing structure 41. The wall cores were made of small stones and boulder clay, unlike other buildings at the site that used debris. The original building had one entrance on the south-eastern wall and a rectangular hearth. The building's walls were lined with stone furnishings, similar to Skara Brae-type "dressers".
The original rectangular building was later modified, extending the walls to give the building a more rectangular shape. The absence of stone tiles within the structure suggest that it was roofed using other, more easily decomposed materials such as turf roofing. Several post holes were dug post-renovation in order to insert timber poles to hold up the roof, a sign of hasty structural repairs.
The building was modified for the last time when it was extended on both sides into the boat shape present today. Due to the extension of the Northern end of the building, the door was moved to the center of the Eastern side wall. Soon after this modification was complete, building 5 was partially dismantled, signalling a potential collapse which led to the decommissioning of the building. The timber posts were carefully removed, meaning the roof had either been removed or collapsed. Artifacts were then thrown into the post holes and buried.
Due to an inconsistent layering of matter within the building, archaeologists have determined that the floors of the room were kept extremely clean. Due to a high volume of ashy deposits, it has also been found that the building contained a central hearth.
Structure 8
Structure 8In this image taken in July2016, structure8 is visible to the rear. The prominent structure is structure11.
Structure8 is roughly contemporary with structure1, probably having been built just after structure1 was completed.[25] It comprised 10 piers and ten recesses, and had six hearths. The remains of at least two earlier buildings lie beneath it and structure8 appears to have undergone severe subsidence itself. Its floor slumped in antiquity, causing the roof to fall in, and some of its stones were used to form structure10.[25]
Structure8 was the first place where stone roof tiles were discovered on site[26] and the first place where coloured pigment was found on the walls.[25]
Uniquely among the buildings of the Ness of Brodgar, and indeed uniquely in Neolithic Europe so far as is known, finely-worked stone spatulas were found here. They resemble flattened spoons and have been made with great care. None of them show signs of wear and their purpose is unknown.[25] Other finds from this structure included a whalebone mace head[27] and a whale's tooth set in stone.
Structure 10
Structure 10Archaeologists at work on structure10 in July 2016
Structure10 was discovered in 2008, and was described by excavators as "temple-like". It has walls 4 metres (13ft) thick and still standing to a height of more than 1 metre (3.3ft). The building is 25 metres (82ft) long and 20 metres (66ft) wide and a standing stone with a hole shaped like an hourglass was incorporated into the walls. There is a cross-shaped inner sanctum and the building was surrounded by a paved outer passage. It is believed to have been constructed around 2900BC, and appears to have been partly rebuilt around 2800BC, probably due to structural instability.[5] This is the largest structure of its kind anywhere in the north of Britain and it would have dominated the ritual landscape of the peninsula.
Structure10 was used until around 2400–2200BC, when it appears to have been "closed" in an extraordinary and unique episode of ceremonial demolition[28] involving the slaughter of several hundred cattle. Tibias (shin bones) of approximately 400cattle comprise the vast majority of bones found.[5] The bones were laid around structure10 and an upturned cow skull was placed within it. The tibias appear to have been cracked to extract the marrow, suggesting that this slaughter was accompanied by a feast. All the slaughter seems to have taken place in a single event. After the feast, the whole carcasses of several red deer were placed atop the broken bones, and structure10 was largely destroyed. This event appears to have marked the closure and abandonment of the Ness of Brodgar site.[29][30]
Structure 12
Structure 12Structure12 in July2016. Just visible at the back of this photograph is Neil Oliver.
Structure 12 was built over at least three ovular structures,[31] with estimates for its initial construction dating (radiocarbon) back to around 3100-2900 B.C.[32] Split into two sections, the building includes six piers, four recesses and two hearths (one on each side).[33] Because of its precarious position over previous structures, parts of the southern end of the building collapsed. This collapse most likely occurred between 2820-2585 B.C. based on radiocarbon dates from smashed pots near the southern hearth.[32] Structure 12 was then remodeled several times, including rebuilding the southern wall, filling the original south and northwest entrances, and adding eastern and northern entrances.[34] After these reconstructions, Structure 12 was eventually, and likely intentionally, destroyed, and several large decorated stones were artificially fractured.[35]
The new north entrance led to a forecourt which survived the destruction of the main building. Excavations of the forecourt revealed two upright grooved ware pots, pottery shards, hammerstones, and a macehead piece.[36] The red, black, or white pottery at Structure 12 was typically decorated by attaching cordons (strips of clay) directly to the main piece, but these often fell off. Another technique was to carve a groove into the piece and press the cordon into it.[37][38]
The grooved ware styles found at the Ness of Brodgar in Structure 12 later spread southwards from Orkney through the repeated motifs of the "eyebrow" and "Brodgar Butterfly," amongst others.[39][40]
Structure 14
Structure14Structure14 as it appeared in July 2016. The tarpaulins visible in this image are left over from when the site was covered and closed down (dig restarted 4 July). The tyres were used to weigh them down.
Structure14 was built around 3000BC, roughly contemporaneously with structures1, 8 and 12.[41] It is in the northernmost part of Trench P, northeast of and built against one wall of Structure 1.[42] An ovular building with internal measurements of about 8.65 meters by 5.73 meters, Structure 14 went through at least two phases of construction.[43] The first phase featured three entrances and several orthostats forming divisions within the building. The second phase included removing some of those orthostat divisions, narrowing the southern entrance, leveling the floor of the northwest side, and adding yellow clay to the floor of the whole structure.[44] Structure 14 had entrances on the northeast end and southeast side, with a cell in the southwest and two hearths centered in each half of the building. The entire structure was eventually dismantled, leaving only the northern foundations and small parts of the southern walls.[45]
A great deal of stone from structure14 was taken in antiquity for re-use elsewhere, and like all the other structures except structure10, it appears to have been largely demolished by 2600BC.[46]
An axehead made of gneiss and a polished igneous stone were found underneath the floor of Structure 14, and a carinated bowl shard was found amongst midden deposits and structural remains dating back to around 3300 B.C., before Structure 14 was built.[47] A baked clay artefact known as the "Brodgar Boy", and thought to be a figurine with a head, body, and two eyes, was unearthed in the rubble of Structure 14 in 2011. It was found in two sections, the smaller of which measures 30mm.[48]
Hidden Structures
Structure 16
Structure 16 was built sometime between 3000-2900 B.C.[49] directly south of Structure 14.[50] It was about 5 meters by 3 meters, with an entrance directly across from the entrance of Structure 14. Structure 16 had a central hearth and one clay floor deposit, though the eastern side has not been excavated as of 2021. It was likely torn down at the same time as Structure 14.[51]
Structures 17 and 18
Structures 17 and 18 were both built around 3200 B.C., and Structure 8 was built on top of them. Both interiors were divided in half by stone piers, and each side had a stone hearth. There were also recesses on each side framed by stone slabs. A paved pathway connects both structures. Structure 17 likely had a stone roof, while Structure 18 uniquely included yellow clay in its walls and not just the floor like all the other structures.[52]
Structure 26
Structure 26 is a D-shaped building likely built between 2800-2700 B.C. It rests between Structures 10, 12, and 30, with interior dimensions of 6.5 meters by 4.5 meters. It had one entrance in the southeast corner, and a single hearth in the center. The decorated stone that makes up much of its walls was likely taken from the remains of Structures 10 and 12.[53]
Structure 27
Structure 27
Structure 27 is yet to be firmly dated, but archaeological consensus is that it might have been contemporary with structure 10, in which case it would have been first built around 2900 BC.[54][55] It stood outside the site's southern boundary wall. It was about 17 meters by 11 meters, with an interior measuring about 11 meters by 7.5 meters. It had one entrance on the north side, one hearth in the center, and stone furniture on the interior periphery.[56] A drainage system surrounds Structure 27, leading to a drain underneath the southwest wall. It also likely had a paved path on the outside like Structure 10. It had a stone-tiled roof as well. Fragments of wood and one 60 centimeter plank were found preserved in clay, and likely served as supports for the roof.[57] The building was eventually formally decommissioned and dismantled before stone robbers later took parts of the southeastern and southwestern walls.[58]
Structure 27's walls were deliberately curved, a high quality masonry technique not often seen at the time. Six slabs, approximately 4.55 meters long and 15 centimeters thick, were incorporated into the structure's interior walls creating another unique structural effect. Other stone slabs with decorations similar to other orthostats on the site formed recesses on both ends of the building. There was one hearth in the center of Structure 27, but it only had a small layer of ash. Either the hearth was not frequently used, or it was regularly cleaned.[59]
Extensive bone deposits were found around the structure's northwest corner underneath an orthostat,[60] like those found around structure 10. These bones were mostly cattle, with one otter bone.[61]
Structure 28
Structure 28 was built in Trench P around the same time as Structures 17 and 18 in 3200 B.C. before it was replaced by Structure 12 sometime between 3100-2900 B.C.[62][63] The original structure measured around 12 meters by 8.6 meters. However, not long after construction, the northern end was shortened by about two meters. The location of any hearths and entrances in Structure 28 are unclear as of the 2024 excavation. The inner walls of the sub-rectangular building were constructed using flagstone with pink stripes that came from the West Mainland of Orkney, possibly on the Ness of Brodgar peninsula. This same stone appeared in Structure 12 and Structure 26. Rubble from Structure 28 is visible in some parts of the floor of Structure 12, as well as in the lower parts of the walls.[64]
Structures 21 and 29
On the side of Trench P and west of Structure 1, the eastern part of Structure 21's north wall is visible. As of 2021, excavators suspect that Structure 21 was similar in size and layout to Structure 12. Parts of Structure 21 were removed for later use in other buildings.[65] Both Structures 21 and 29 date to around 3000-3100 B.C. depending on the source, along with Structures 1, 8, and 12.[66][67] A small piece of a wall from Structure 29 is south of Structure 1 and northwest of Structure 12.[68]
Structures 23 and 33
The remaining evidence of Structure 33 is a small curved wall east of Structure 28. It was likely similar to Structures 14, 17, and 18, and was contemporaneous with Structure 28. Structure 23 is similarly only known through a small segment of wall northeast of Structure 28. Structure 23 was built against the northern end of Structure 33. Structure 23 was likely similar in size to Structure 26.[69] Eventually, much of Structure 23 was destroyed to use in the forecourt of Structure 12.[70]
Structures 20 and 36
Structure 20 was covered by the construction of Structure 10 in around 2900 B.C., but was originally a sub-rectangular building measuring around 16 meters long. Structure 20 was likely split up by orthostat dividers, and went through some sort of remodeling sometime before it was dismantled for Structure 10 to be built.[71] Structure 36 was the original version of Structure 14. Structure 14 was built directly on top of the foundations for Structure 36, meaning the two were likely the same size and shape.[72]
Timeline
Finds
Structure 10, artistic reconstruction c. 3000 BC
Excavations have revealed several buildings, both ritual and domestic, and the works suggest there are likely to be more in the vicinity. Pottery, cremated animal bones, stone tools, and polished stone mace heads have been discovered.[73] All of the main structures have stone slabs with geometric designs carved into them typical of other nearby Neolithic sites like Skara Brae. Structures 1 and 8 also had signs of pigment on some of their stones. The main techniques for stone decoration found at the site are scratching, carving, peeking, pick dressing, and painting. Many of the stones are also cup-marked.[74]
There are the remains of a large stone wall (the "Great Wall of Brodgar") that may have been 100 metres (330ft) long and 6 metres (20ft) or more wide. It appears to traverse the peninsula where the site is located, and may have been a symbolic barrier between the ritual landscape of the Ring and the mundane world around it.[75][76]
In 2013, an intricately inscribed stone was found in structure10, described as "potentially the finest example of Neolithic art found in the UK for several decades".[77][78] The stone is inscribed on both sides. A few days later archaeologists discovered a carved stone ball, a very rare find of such an object in situ in "a modern archaeological context".[79]
Later finds include Skaill knives[a] and hammer stones, and another, perhaps even bigger wall. The dig involves archaeologists from Orkney College and from the universities of Aberdeen, Cardiff, and Glasgow.[81][82][83][84]
Six Neolithic carved stone balls made of camptonite with an average diameter of 65.58 millimetres and an average knob diameter of 36.46 millimetres were found at the site. They are currently held in The Orkney Museum.[85][86]
World Heritage status
The Heart of Neolithic Orkney was inscribed as a World Heritage site in December 1999. While the Ness of Brodgar is not explicitly named in the 1999 inscription, it is included in both the original and modified (2015) buffer zones surrounding the Heart of Neolithic Orkney site because of its position directly between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness.[87]UNESCO World Heritage buffer zones come with legal regulations intended to protect both the listed sites themselves and their surroundings, which contribute environmental context to the greater archaeological and cultural understanding of the site.[87]
Like all World Heritage sites in Scotland, The Heart of Neolithic Orkney is managed by Historic Environment Scotland, previously Historic Scotland.[88] Historic Environment Scotland aims to maintain sites like The Heart of Neolithic Orkney to spread awareness of the early customs and achievements of people in what is now Scotland.[89]
As of 2016, the Ness of Brodgar was one of the most visited sites in Orkney.[90]
Archaeology
Dig at the Ness of Brodgar in August 2018
A 2002 geophysical survey of the area as part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney Geophysics Programme unexpectedly showed anomalies on the peninsula.[91] In 2003 a large notched slab discovered during ploughing was examined.[92] Investigation of the findspot uncovered a Neolithic building similar to Structure 2 and roughly 15 metres by 20 metres with two internal recesses. About 0.3 metres of the double-faced stone walls remained.[93] Archaeological excavations were begun at the site by a team from the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology of the UHI Archaeology Institute led by Nick Card. Trial trenching was conducted between 2004 and 2008 to investigate the mound and the threat from ploughing. Trenches A through J were opened. The mound was determined to be about 250 metres by 100 metres (NW–SE) and over 4 metres high.[30]
From 2009 until 2024, the site was excavated during the summer period. For the remainder of the year, it was covered in polyethylene plastic and tyres to protect it from the environment.[94][95] It was announced in March 2023 that the site would be buried and returfed in August 2024,[1][2] to preserve the site for future archaeologists, as some of the quarried stonework had begun to laminate and crumble on exposure to the air.[3][4] Reburial began on 16 August 2024, and was "all but completed" as of 27 September 2024.[96]
Prompted by new ground penetrating radar imagery a new four-week excavation will be conducted in July 2026. The dig will be open to visitors, on weekdays, between Tuesday 7 July and Thursday 30 July 2026.[97][98][99]
↑Card, Nick; Edmonds, Mark; Mitchell, Anne (2020). "The story so far". The Ness of Brodgar: As it Stands. Orcadian (Kirkwall Press). ISBN978-1-912889-08-2.
↑"Trench Plans". The Ness of Brodgar Excavation. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
↑Card, Nick; Downes, Jane; Gibson, Julie; Ovenden, Susan (2007). "Bringing a Landscape to Life? Researching and Managing 'The Heart of Neolithic Orkney' World Heritage Site". World Archaeology. 39 (3): 417–435. ISSN0043-8243. JSTOR40026209.
↑Towrie, Sigurd (6 August 2010). "Friday, August 6, 2010". Orkneyjar.com. Excavation Diary. The Ness of Brodgar Trust. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
↑Blanz, Magdalena, et al., "Life, death and teeth of Late Neolithic sheep and red deer excavated at Ness of Brodgar, Orkney Islands (UK)", Environmental Archaeology 29.6, pp. 465-477, 2024
12Card, Nick, et al., "To cut a long story short: formal chronological modelling for the Late Neolithic site of Ness of Brodgar, Orkney", European Journal of Archaeology 21.2, pp. 217-263, 2018
↑Thomas, Antonia (2016). Art and Architecture in Neolithic Orkney: Process, Temporality and Context. Archaeopress. p.135. JSTORj.ctvxrq0z3.
↑Ross, John (14 August 2007). "Experts uncover Orkney's new Skara Brae and the great wall that separated living from dead". The Scotsman. Edinburgh, UK.
↑Thomas, Antonia, "Art in Context: The Decorated Stone Assemblage", The Ness of Brodgar: As it Stands. The Orcadian, pp. 132-149, 2020
↑Towrie, Sigurd (7 August 2013). "Wednesday, August 7, 2013". Orkneyjar.com. Excavation Diary. The Ness of Brodgar Trust. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
↑Stewart-Moffitt, Chris L., "The Classification of Carved Stone Balls and a Revised Typology", The Circular Archetype in Microcosm: The Carved Stone Balls of Late Neolithic Scotland, Archaeopress, pp. 129–251, 2022
↑Stewart-Moffitt, Chris L., "CSB Decoration and Their Revised Classification/Typology", The Circular Archetype in Microcosm: The Carved Stone Balls of Late Neolithic Scotland, Archaeopress, pp. 252–315, 2022
↑Ballin Smith, B., "A New Late Neolithic House at Brodgar Farm, Stenness, Orkney", Unpublished report for GUARD, Project 1506, Glasgow, 2003
↑Card, Nick, et al., "Bringing a Landscape to Life? Researching and Managing 'The Heart of Neolithic Orkney' World Heritage Site", World Archaeology, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 417–35, 2007
Shillito, Lisa-Marie, et al., "Subsistence, technology and resource use in Neolithic Orkney at the Ness of Brodgar", Antiquity Project Gallery 348, pp. 684-700, 2015
Card, Nick, and Antonia Thomas, "Painting a picture of Neolithic Orkney: decorated stonework from the Ness of Brodgar", Visualising the Neolithic, pp. 111-124, 2012
Gordillo, Ana Barrera, "Un tesoro neolítico en Escocia: Ness of Brodgar", ArtyHum: Revista Digital de Artes y Humanidades 5, pp. 29-40, 2014
Mainland, Ingrid, et al., "'SmartFauna': a microscale GIS-based multi-dimensional approach to faunal deposition at the Ness of Brodgar, Orkney", Journal of Archaeological Science 41, pp. 868-878, 2014
Jones, Richard, et al., "Analysis of coloured Grooved Ware sherds from the Ness of Brodgar, Orkney", Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 28, 102014, 2019
Thomas, Antonia, "Image and process in an architectural context: decorated stonework from the Ness of Brodgar, Orkney", Making a Mark: image and process in Neolithic Britain and Ireland, Oxbow Books, pp. 144-163, 2019
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