Report from the field – notes on a PhD research trip to Orkney
PhD student Sophie Durbin looks back on her summer research trip to Orkney.
Category: Skaill Farm
Archaeology Festival: An update on the 2026 Skaill farm excavations
Dan Lee, one of the project directors, is giving a talk in Kirkwall tonight on the 2026 season of excavation at Skaill farm, Rousay.
Dig diary – final week at Skaill, Rousay
An update on the final week of excavation from Dan Lee.
Dig diary – week two at Skaill, Rousay
An update from Skaill farm, Rousay, by Dan Lee.
Dig diary – Week one at Skaill, Rousay
An update on the first week at Skaill from site director Dan Lee.
Back in Rousay for three-week excavation at Skaill Farm
Our second dig of the 2026 season gets under way tomorrow, with archaeologists, students and volunteers from the UHI Archaeology Institute back at the multi-period settlement site at Skaill, Rousay.
OAS talk on the archaeology of Christianity in medieval Orkney
Dr Sarah Jane Gibbon will give an Orkney Archaeology Society talk about her research into medieval Orcadian Christianity on May 28, 2026.
Undergrads focus on iron artefacts and ceramics from Skaill farm
Undergraduate students Milly Wilson and Yazzy Qaqundah have been analysing the ceramic and iron assemblages from the Skaill farm excavation, Rousay.
Meet the Skaill head at dig talk in Rousay community room
Folk in Rousay will get an update on the ongoing UHI Archaeology Institute excavation at Skaill farm next week, with a talk scheduled for Monday, February 9.
Student’s carved head find included in Smithsonian magazine’s top discoveries of 2025
The carved stone head found by one of our undergraduate students in Rousay has made it on to the Smithsonian Magazine’s list of top discoveries of 2025.
Skaill farm – final week summary and updated info sheet
The 2025 dig at Skaill farm, Rousay, ended on July 25. Here project co-director Dan Lee provides a summary of the third and final week.
Dig diary – spectacular carved head found in week two at Skaill farm
An unexpected and spectacular find – a carved sandstone head.
Dig diary – ‘Memento mori’ fragment unearthed in week one at Skaill farm
A round-up of the first week of excavations at Skaill, Rousay, from Dan Lee.
‘Time Travel on Orkney’ – Radio 4 programme now on BBC Sounds
A BBC Radio Four radio programme looking at the history of Rousay is now available on BBC Sounds.
New dates for Skaill farm walk and talk in Rousay
After the scheduled walk and talk on the ongoing excavations at Skaill farm, Rousay, were hit by the weather, the dig team has set new dates.
Visiting with bones, time and place – Skaill Farm
A post from Skaill Farm artist in residence Anna Gardiner.
The rousing sounds of Skaill farm
The second article in a series of posts exploring sound at Skaill farm, Rousay – this one from MA Contemporary Art and Archaeology graduate Aileen Ogilvie.
Sound theory, sound practice – Skaill Farm
Exploring the nature of sound at Skaill farm, Rousay, with MA Contemporary Art and Archaeology student Lara Band.
Dig diary – week three at Skaill, Rousay
A summary of the third and final week of excavation at Skaill, Rousay.
Dig diary – week two at Skaill, Rousay
The second week at Skaill, Rousay, has flown by with some exciting new discoveries, a wall of sound and the open day. By extending the trench a wee bit, we now have a much better understanding of the site. Project co-director Dan Lee provides an update: