Twenty-years of Excavation at the Ness of Brodgar, Orkney and the Influence of Neolithic Orcadians on the British Isles

Scott Pike, PhD, FSA Scot

Prof. of Environmental Science and Archaeology

Willamette University

The last two-decades of excavations at the Ness of Brodgar in Orkney, Scotland have reshaped our understanding of Neolithic Britain. Located in the heart of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this expansive site encompasses roughly 2.5 hectares and is composed of numerous monumental-scaled multiphased structures. Situated on a narrow causeway separating two lochs, the site provides a land-bridge linking the Neolithic sites of the Ring of Brodgar stone circle to the west with the Stones of Stenness stone circle and Maeshowe chamber tomb to the east. Predating Stonehenge by centuries, the excavations have revealed that many characteristics attributed to the Neolithic people of the British Isles were first developed at the Ness of Brodgar and spread rapidly south. The exceptional preservation at the Ness of Brodgar has provided archaeologists with unprecedented insights into the social developments of Neolithic Orkney and valuable clues of the site’s broader influence on Neolithic society throughout the British Isles.

This presentation will place the Ness of Brodgar in its regional archaeological context. The talk will take a look at the site and structures uncovered to date, discuss current research efforts to identify activity areas within the structures, and provide goals for the final excavation season this coming summer.