Dig diary – a wealth of discoveries makes for a perfect day on site
Today’s update from Spurness, Sanday, by Professor Colin Richards.
Category: Northern Exposure
Dig diary – drone views of Spurness building(s)
Today’s update from Spurness, Sanday, showing the scale of the monumental Early Neolithic building.
Dig diary – Monumental Neolithic discovery at Spurness
More divisional orthostats suggests Early Neolithic building was more monumental than first believed.
Update on Spurness open day plans
Tomorrow’s open day at the Spurness excavation site in Sanday is going ahead with tours planned every 30 minutes. The site will be open from 10am until 4pm.
Spurness 2026 – day 12
Back on site, we’ve got a side door to the Early Neolithic structure.
Spurness 2026 – day nine
A day of enlightenment, with several things that were difficult to interpret began to make sense.
Spurness 2026 – day eight
An exceptional day, but not entirely for the expected reasons.
Spurness 2026 – day seven
Photographs from day seven in Sanday.
Spurness 2026 – day six
It seems our Early Neolithic building is large – c.19.5 metres long.
Spurness 2026 – day five
Day five at Spurness, Sanday.
Spurness 2026 – day four
Trench cleaning, filming and a couple of great finds.
Spurness 2026 – day three
Deturfing complete, it was time to remove the protective covers…
Spurness 2026 – day two
An exciting day on site – it seems out Neolithic structure might be bigger than we thought.
Back to Sanday to continue excavating Spurness Neolithic structure
We’re back in Sanday this week, with excavations resuming at a prehistoric site at Spurness on Sunday.
New 3d model of the Spurness Neolithic structure
A new model, courtesy of UHI Archaeology Institute PhD student Logan O’Brien, of the Sanday Neolithic structure at the end of the 2025 dig last week.
Spurness 2025 – dig diary day twelve
That’s this season’s dig finished, the trench backfilled and we’re beginning to get packed up for the journeys home.
Spurness 2025: dig diary day ten
The penultimate day of excavation saw a buzz across the site as we race to get as much done before backfilling the site on Friday.
Spurness 2025 – dig diary day eight
Our first pottery, an elusive wall section and a spectacular flaked stone adze!
Spurness 2025 – dig diary day seven
The second and final week of this demanding, but rewarding, field season got under way today with a full complement of student diggers and volunteers on site.
Spurness 2025 – open day and talk
We’re hosting an open day at the excavation site and the Sanday Heritage Centre on Sunday, August 10, followed by a talk in the school on Friday, August 15, at 7.30pm.