Today is the last day available for excavation and planning continues all over the site. My drawing is of a young archaeologist doing a carefully measured drawing and balancing on a single stone to avoid damaging the delicate floor surface.
It’s been a day of trying to catch archaeologists to get last minute information at a time when they are also endeavouring to finish up their own loose ends. I find it difficult to interrupt them and hope that I exercise sufficient tact. But their generosity is amazing and they find the time to answer my questions and keep me up to date on the season’s progress. All these recordings are required to complete the final film for next year – so it is vital to have information that can round off the narrative.
I was also delighted to catch a few serendipitous snippets when recording background sound. While drawing Trench J this afternoon I was seated near the site shop and the place where visitors are greeted and offered basic information. In amongst the general hubbub was the odd sentence that will be perfect for my sound track.
I need to make a correction to yesterday’s blog. Brian who brings food for the diggers explained that he and his partner are no longer part of Orkney Zero Waste. They are now working independently as a not for profit organisation called Food Fairy Mary – a perfect name for the service they provide.
Tomorrow they will begin to cover the trenches – a time when I need to collect more drawings but at the same time have conversations with people not involved in the heavy lifting of sandbags and tyres. It could be a busy day…
The photo of my corner of the Art Hut represents half the artists’ space. Yesterday was Open Day and we had 100 visitors. As we can only fit in two or three people at one time, it was a busy day. The only drawing achieved was a quick sketch from the Art Hut doorway of three of the diggers during their tea-break.
It is now the last week of the dig and everybody is trying to get unfinished business cleared up before the trenches are covered over to protect them until next season. There is a lot of planning going on – and not in the sense of looking forward. Planning in archaeological terms means making a carefully drawn plan of a piece of the trench. Even though advanced technology can make detailed photographic records of the site, drawing is still an important element of the documentation. One of the archaeologists told me that there is currently some debate on whether drawing still serves any purpose. She personally feels that the subjective nature of drawing acknowledges the interpretive nature of archaeology, and is a way of passing on her thought process to the next person who works in that context. Obviously this appeals to me – as a combination of drawing and human perception.
So while the archaeologists were drawing, I engaged in some archaeological analysis in my own haphazard artist’s manner. Over the season Martha the ‘Rock Lady’ has been giving me little pots of ‘sweeties’ – pieces of silt stone, which I have been sorting into ones that make good marks on paper and putting those into small bags. They have now been graded according to colour and assembled into a colour chart.
The Ness of Brodgar dig relies on donations and support from many people. This does not always take the form of hard cash. Almost everyone on site is a volunteer and this is our method of support. Then there is Brian from the local Zero Waste charity, who comes every day to bring the diggers various food stuffs, including home-made hot soup and cakes made with ingredients that have been rejected for sale. These gifts are delicious and most appreciated – especially on a cold wet day.
If you, or someone you know, would like to make a donation the dig, this can be done online at: www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/crowdfunder
The mood on site was sad today. The Director’s much loved dog Bryn, who I have drawn several times over the years, passed away after a long illness. There is a lovely tribute on the Dig Diary.
Added to this mournful atmosphere, a strong Orkney wind from the north was not conducive to drawing or sound recording outside. So I stayed in the Art Hut and recorded the sound of the wind whistling.
Then I drew my fellow Artist in Residence, Diane Eagles, making a basket out of Neolithic materials – willow stems woven with water iris cord. Following her residency last year making pots around the ideas of ‘Feast and Found’, this year Diane is working on both pots and weaving, and is looking at Apotropaic (to ward off evil) mark marking and the ritual placing of pots and objects.
www.edensclay.co.uk
No blog tomorrow as we have the day off ahead of the Open Day on Sunday
Today saw the world premier of my film: ‘Ness of Brodgar 5th edit – work in progress’, which is around half the intended length of the film. It was shown on site, projected on to the wall of the barn where the wheelbarrows are stored. There were some good reactions, including a few laughs. The audience was so big that a second showing was necessary at the end of the day. Having watch the film through twice I can see they there are a few tweaks necessary. Once they are done this latest version will go on Vimeo, alongside the previous edits.
For me the occasion was probably as nerve-racking as a gallery preview – but the location was perfect. It would be good to recreate this open air cinema next year, when I hope the film will be complete.
Setting up the film show took up most of my day, but I managed one drawing in the afternoon of Trench T from my previously established view point. The plan is to show a series of drawings from the same place over time.
Last year and early this season I followed the history of Trench Y, which was meant to be a quick excavation to find the wall surrounding the Ness of Brodgar. They didn’t find the wall – just a few bits of archaeology including one or two nice finds and a hearth.
Today, sitting in a (relatively) gentle breeze beside Trench Y, I watched around twenty people shovelling the spoil heaps back into the trench. This is the absolute final phase of its existence – although there is a layer of black plastic covering the archaeology, just in case someone ever wants to reinvestigate the site.
Despite the number of people working, it was taking a long time. This had been a deep trench. The mound already backfilling the end near the water was fairly quickly levelled – but the top of the trench, a metre deep remained.
The afternoon break was over and, with only half an hour to go before home time, people were beginning to flag. Fortunately the Director came and said the job could be finished another day…
Final Trench Y drawing to follow in due course…
