There is no wall in Trench Y. Down near the loch edge they found a large promising stone – but underneath it had a plough mark, which dates its arrival in position somewhere in the early 20th century. So the layers are being recorded in drawing and work will be done on the floor deposits at the upper end, and then it will be filled in.
On a site that takes the long term view on most structures, it seems odd, or perhaps special, to witness the beginning and end of a trench in one season.
Today, between the typical Orkney showers, the loch was a more intense blue than I have ever seen before. Late in the day I painted a small watercolour. The water dark compared to the sky, making the dry patches of grass where people have trodden gleam a bleached ochre. The foreground punctuated with bright red spots of clothing and bits of kit. A strange fragmented picture that reflects a busy but fragmented day.
