A sad day today as we have to say goodbye to Bonnie who has to go back south. She’s worked at Swandro for the last four years and she’s off back to the University of Bradford for her graduation ceremony, to collect her 1st class honours degree. We wish her all the best for the future out in the big wide world:
The rest of the team have been hard at it again on another gloriously hot day, one of the Iron Age buildings is starting to look its best:
We’re also cleaning round the entrance to the chambered tomb which has so far survived the Atlantic, although the waves are sweeping round in a really odd way and sucking some of middens out from between the some of the walls in places on some of the Iron Age buildings.
This shot was taken looking straight down the entrance passageway to the tomb, the slabs are collapsing down into the passage:
You can see in this next shot how close the tomb is to the sea and how soon we’re going to lose the lot unless we can somehow raise enough funding to excavate it:
We had another group of visitors to site today – we really do enjoy having folk come down, please do make the effort if you’re in Rousay. Park at Midhowe car park and then walk along the shore – on the way you can visit our neighbouring dig, run by Dr Ingrid Mainland of the UHI, at Skaill Farm, investigating the Norse farm mound there. Skaill Farm’s open day is Saturday 21st July (we will be digging that day too) followed by our Open Day is on Sunday 23rd July - and we will be having our Viking re-enactors back!