'Extraordinary discovery' at Orkney Neolithic site
8 hours ago
Scott Pike
The Ness of Brodgar lies on a narrow strip of land between two Orkney lochs
Archaeologists are to resume digging at the Ness of Brodgar on Orkney after 3D radar technology led to an "extraordinary discovery".
The dig team at the Ness, one of the most important Neolithic sites in the British Isles, are not revealing what they believe the find to be until more work is done. But they say it is like nothing else ever found at the site – and may not even be Neolithic.
The Ness of Brodgar – a strip of land between two lochs - was the scene of 20 years of excavations until work officially ended in 2024.
Hugo Anderson Whymark
The buildings previously unearthed date back as far as 3,500BC, with "Structure 12" built about 3,100BC
The digs uncovered 40 structures making up a cluster of buildings which showed it was a significant settlement in prehistoric Orkney. However, a further phase of work using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) was carried out this summer - producing three-dimensional images of the whole site for the first time.
More:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7836wvx4q4o
= new reply since forum marked as read
Well, alrightee then.
November 27, 2025 at 2:05 pm
Time Team’s Dr John Gater (left) and Mike Langton of Guideline Geo, pictured with the radar system at the Ness of Brodgar. (Orkney Photographic)
Digging is set to resume at the internationally-renowned Ness of Brodgar after a new and exciting discovery could shed new light on the site’s 5,000-year-old story.
Archaeologists are remaining tight-lipped on what that discovery is — but excavations are set to restart next summer.
The discovery has stunned archaeologists and according to the site director, Nick Card, has been a “big surprise”.
It has come about after experts from Time Team focused their ground-penetrating radar on the 2.5-hectare site in July.
The site has been filled in after two decades of excavations, which brought visitors to Orkney from across the world.
Previous geophysical surveys established the extent of the Ness — just under ten per cent of which had been excavated.
More:
https://orcadian.co.uk/digging-to-resume-after-big-surprise-at-ness-of-brodgar/
