Evidence of a woven Neolithic textile found during post-excavation work at the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute’s flagship Ness of Brodgar excavation has been named one of Scotland’s “most groundbreaking discoveries of 2020”.

The Covid pandemic has had a profound impact on Scottish archaeology, with the majority of excavation work brought to a standstill. However, archaeologists and volunteers still managed to uncover new details about Scotland’s past.

Dig It!, a hub for Scottish archaeology, has compiled a list of three of the biggest stories from the last 12 months, featuring the Ness of Brodgar textile impression at number two.

Organic material from prehistory does not often survive, so the study of Neolithic textiles has to rely on secondary evidence, such as the impression that the fabric left when it was pressed against the wet clay of a pot 5,000 years ago. The impressions appear on the inner face of the vessel which suggests that they were made by the potter’s clothing during the pot’s creation.

The Ness of Brodgar team has been investigating this massive complex of monumental Neolithic buildings, in Orkney, since 2004, but all excavation and fieldwork was put on hold this year due to the pandemic.

The impressions were discovered during post-excavation examination of the huge quantities of pottery from the site. The project uses a technique called Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), which combines multiple photos of a subject to create a highly detailed image that can reveal surface details not visible during normal examination.

The Ness textile joins the Tap o’ Noth Pictish settlement in Aberdeenshire, where, in May, archaeologists from the Leverhulme Comparative Kingship Project uncovered evidence that up to 4,000 people may have lived or gathered in hundreds of houses on the summit around 1,700 to 1,400 years ago.

In Edinburgh, when lockdown was lifted in the summer, archaeologists began unearthing skeletons and artefacts from a medieval cemetery in Leith that were to be affected by the work to extend the Edinburgh Tram line to Newhaven.

The discovery of over 350 burials which could date as far back as 1300 came as no surprise, but this wasn’t the team’s only find. Others included a cannonball that may have been fired during the 1559-60 Siege of Leith, pottery and a coin of Dutch origin which dates to 1628, and bones from the fin of an adult sperm whale, dating to around 1800, which shone a spotlight on Leith’s industrial whaling past.

Dr Jeff Sanders, Project Manager at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland’s Dig It! project, said: “Archaeology is all about discovering Scotland’s stories and these are just some of the new chapters that have been added despite the pandemic, with other finds ranging from a major Iron Age village in Aberdeenshire to a “lost” medieval bridge in the Scottish Borders.

“As Scotland’s Archaeology Strategy reminds us, archaeology is for everyone, so we hope you’ve been inspired to get involved in 2021 when it’s safe to do so.”

The third volume in the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute’s research series was officially launched on Wednesday evening.

The Ness of Brodgar: As it Stands focuses on the ongoing excavation of a complex of Neolithic buildings in Stenness, Orkney, and is a major drawing together of all the strands of information available to date.

The background to the site, its discovery, excavation, the science and other specialisms being employed to tease out the story are all explored in the richly illustrated book.

Opening the launch event in Kirkwall, Orkney, Professor Jane Downes, director of the UHI Archaeology Institute, described the new volume as a “splendid addition” to the institute’s research series.

She said: “The Ness of Brodgar is the flagship excavation of the Archaeology Institute – an excavation that has grown to be of such importance to Orkney, not only economically, which it undoubtedly has been evidenced to be, but to a whole range of people, from students, tour guides, schools and Orkney visitors, to whom the site has become an annual highlight.

“This book has been eagerly awaited by legions of students, professional and amateur archaeologists and Ness of Brodgar and Orkney enthusiasts from all over the world. For the UHI Archaeology Institute this is a proud moment indeed.”

Discovered in 2003, UHI excavation at the Ness of Brodgar began in 2005 and the interim monograph features contributions from institute staff as well as specialists from around the world. The result is 27 chapters, each devoted to different aspects of the site, its excavation and interpretation.

Edited by Nick Card, Mark Edmonds and Anne Mitchell, The Ness of Brodgar: As it Stands is available from bookshops priced £35.99. Purchasing online from www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk will see proceeds from each sale go to the excavation funds.

The second volume in the UHI Archaeology Institute series, Landscapes Revealed: Remote Sensing Across the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, was launched in September and also available from bookshops.