Trench T, Ness of Brodgar, Orkney

Trench T is one of the most intriguing areas under excavation at the Ness. At the top of the trench a stone revetted defensive ditch encircles a platform. This dates from the Iron Age and may have enclosed a building. The ditch was cut into a 4m deep heap of Late Neolithic midden soil. In the sections you can see tips lines where individual buckets of ash, hearth waste, pottery and bone have been poured downslope. At the bottom of the trench dozens of Neolithic pits cut into the midden soils. These pits contain few artefacts, but some have been revetted with small stone walls. Beneath the midden and pits is an enigmatic building that is exceptionally large, measuring c15m by 10.5m and exhibits some of the finest masonry found at the Ness. The Interior wall faces have been lined by stones up to 4m long, with dividing orthostats, while the external faces are gentle convex an one surviving corner has been pick dressed. Is it a tomb? For more info see: http://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/