Ness

Today the extraordinary Neolithic archaeological site, the Ness of Brodgar, had its annual (and penultimate) open day.  As always, the guides were informative and entertaining, full of the latest thinking from the past year's work.  This year I learnt that the massive building at one side of the site was in fact the last to be erected, and that the huge feast evidenced by the bones of 400 cattle, all laid in place at one and the same time, its now thought to be a farewell to the site as the Bronze Age dawned. My blip is of an older structure with exquisite stone walls (the workmanship deteriorated significantly in structures added later) and we were told of how decorated the stones used to be with colour and shapes carved into them.  My eye was drawn to a stone to the bottom right of the lady in green which had a line of holes on its face - surely that has to be man made?  Have I made a big discovery???!

The site was thronging but not unpleasantly so; my friend in the gate said he'd checked in 620 cars over 2½ hours; as I was definitely the exception going by myself I reckon that's at least 1,300 people at a conservative guess and there were still a couple of hours to go.  All great for funding next year's dig, the last to be done in this phase of the site's excavation. They've unearthed enough to keep them busy for decades so I doubt it'll be reopened in my lifetime and I'll miss my annulus pilgrimage. I hope they  cover it over with a bit of a ceremony - but maybe a more modest barbeque than our ancestors' 400 cattle is in order!

I had my second visit to Stromness to see our good friends with the amazing view over the town, now slightly less great as a new house has split the view in two. Still a great outlook though and good to catch up with family news.  

The big car is unwell.  Chris staggered home in it by turning the engine on and off to reset the system but that's not healthy. We need it soon for traveling south so I'm crossing every digit possible that the garage comes good.