5,000-year-old art found in Orkney dig

An intricately-inscribed stone was discovered by excited archaeologists at the Ness of Brodgar on Wednesday.

The carved stone unearthed from the Ness of Brodgar site
in Orkney [Credut: Nick Card]

Nick Card, the excavation team director at the dig – which lies in the heart of Neolithic Orkney, between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Strenness – said the latest find had created a “huge buzz” on the site. The stone is unusual as it is artistically decorated on both sides and has impressive deep incisions.

Mr Card, of the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology and based at the University of the Highlands and Islands in the islands, said: “It is perhaps the finest piece of art we have recovered from the site, and one of the finest from the UK ever – amazing and awe-inspiring.”

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