The hazelnut was found in a layer beneath the Bronze Age burial mound at Longhowe during excavations earlier this year. The charred shell has been dated to 6820-6660 BC, and its discovery pushes back the known settlement of Orkney by 3,000 years. Mesolithic settlement has long been known from stone tools, but the nut has provided the first definite date.
Now downloadable at http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/library/des/index.cfm as a .pdf for each year from 1947-2001. However these are facsimiles, so you really need to know which year you want as these won't be truly searchable
The Hunterian museum is re-assembling his(mostly Northern Isles) donation and adding this to their catalogue as they go http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk
At present this is text-only but images will be added over the coming months
Today Radio Orkney reports that a great number of Mesolithic tools have come to light, though presently this is thought to represent a refurbishment workshop rather than a factory per se. They urgently require volunteers to sieve the whole of the spoil heap for microliths missed by the main thrust of the excavation
Another souterrain has come to light in Harray (see Dale) in ploughing a field for barley . Historic Scotland has given a 3 week grant for its excavation, no visitors allowed. With it a hole in the same field reminiscent of that found by the South Keigar earthhouse in Deerness, Orkney. http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/harrayearthhouse.htm
C14 dates for burials at the Knowe of Skea (HY44SW 2) on the edge of Berst Ness [HY44SW 3] push back the age of these from Viking to 200BCE-400ACE. Many of them (mostly children) consisted of bagged bodies dropped vertically into spaces created by removing material from the structures' walls. Article with photo on Sigurd's site http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/knoweskea2006.htm
(For those with transport) Sunday July 30th there are guided tours from one o'clock till five, including the ongoing excavation of an 'early' Neolithic structure with central hearth.
Radio Orkney reports that a socketed bronze axe-head was found a few months ago whilst digging in the Highland Park peats in the Hobbister area of Orphir. This LBA artefact is [believed to be] the first of its kind from Orkney.
Story and pics http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/socketedaxe.htm
From Radio Orkney this morning ; a just completed survey (jointly funded by the Flaws family and the O.I.C.) of the island of Wyre [Weir/Veira] found five mace-head fragments and also miniature soft stone axes in a field, made from non-local stone (Hebrides suggested as source). http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/wyresettlement.htm
Radio Orkney's monthly "Orkology" last night had a report on a small-scale dig at the Ness of Brodgar to ascertain the cause of slip observed recently by the farmer at this feature. They found many pieces of Corded Ware and a pitchblende fragment, bolstering the theory that the known revetments are in connection with a large chambered tomb - the admittedly limited excavation found no IA material to back up the theory that we had a broch here (though one should bear in mind that locally we do have precedent for a broch built over a CT at The Howe).
http://www.orkneyjar.com/archaeology/trotty2005finds.htm has the newspaper report from last week after the re-discovery of the amber beads. The image of the cist area shows the pair of standing stones that hem the cist itself.
Unemployed and so plenty of spare time for researching contributors' questions and queries and for making corrections. Antiquarian and naturalist. Mode of transport shanks's pony. Talent unnecessary endurance. I love brochs.