Five-thousand years ago, an Orkney potter sat down and began work. In the process of creating their clay vessel, the potter pressed a finger into the wet surface and left an imprint.
That fingerprint is the latest discovery made at the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute’s flagship Ness of Brodgar excavation, where a complex of monumental buildings in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site has been under investigation since 2006.
The potter’s fingerprint was noted by ceramics specialist Roy Towers, who was examining a pot sherd from the huge assemblage recovered from the site – the largest collection of late Neolithic Grooved Ware pottery in the UK.
