Today saw all the trenches covered over with tarpaulins held down with tyres, to protect them until next season’s dig. It felt quite sad to see everything that has been revealed this year being hidden.
But it has been an amazing eight weeks. Paul, supervisor in Trench J, was full of enthusiasm for how things have progressed in their understanding of the structures, for what his team have achieved and the artefacts they have found.
Personally I too have progressed in my understanding, not only of the site but also in how my involvement can contribute to the archaeology. By becoming increasingly integrated into the workforce, my use of drawing and sound to record the everyday process of the dig is now revealing the emotions that process generates. In a science based discipline, the documentation of excitement is not usually part of the archive.
In the case of Trench Y, the dominating emotions were a mixture of frustration and determination. The wall they sought does not exist. I watched as they dug further and further towards the loch edge, finding nothing but rubble. Nevertheless they have found sufficiently interesting evidence of archaeology at the top of the trench to prevent the trench from being filled in completely. So while the bottom has been back filled, the top has been covered over with the tarpaulin and tyres, ready for further investigation next year.
And I am not the only onlooker to be pleased by this stay of execution. John, a regular visitor to the site has also been following the fortunes of Trench Y.
Activity in the Art Hut is drawing to a close – so today we wrote a review of our season ‘From the Art Hut’ for the Ness of Brodgar web site at www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk
