9 February 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists find a 5,000-year-old piece of wood in Orkney, which they describe as “astonishing”

Archaeologists continue to make surprising discoveries in Orkney. Although organic materials are quite difficult to find, archaeologists have found a 5,000-year-old piece of wood in Orkney.

Archaeologists discovered the wood while excavating the Ness of Brodgar, which was home to a huge network of Neolithic structures, including a temple-style complex.

That the “astonishing new finding” of the wood was found at the site’s “structure 12,” a huge rectangular building around 17 meters long.

The inside of the structure was split up by pillars to form a succession of bays, alcoves, and recesses around two huge hearths.

Sigurd Towrie, of the University of the Highlands and the Archaeological Institute of the Islands, told The Scotsman that wood was discovered in this area for the first time.

Mr. Towrie said: “Over the years of excavation the Ness has produced so many surprises that some archaeologists thought we had exhausted all the possibilities. Not so.”

The vast Ness of Brodgar site in Orkney.
The vast Ness of Brodgar site in Orkney.

Mr. Towrie said the wood was found in a post hole and had survived probably due to its preservation under a tiny amount of water.

“Preservation of organic material is very rare. The post hole sat in a depression and we think some water had gathered. It creates anaerobic conditions, which slows down decay,” he said.

While few trees remain on Orkney now, the islands were formerly densely forested, which has since vanished owing to increasing sea levels. Recent research on the “woodlands beneath the waves” includes an examination of the remnants of a forest that had been driven under the ocean in the Bay of Ireland near Stromness and has been dated to be about 6,000 years old.

“The earliest Neolithic settlements were made of wood and then they later switched to stone,” Mr. Towrie said.

Although the wood found is in very poor condition, researchers hope to find answers to questions such as whether it is domestic or imported, and what type of wood is it.

The Ness of Brodgar location, located between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, is approximately six acres in size. The first structures were erected on the site approximately 3300 BC, and the site was closed down and abandoned after around 1,000 years.

Earlier this year, a potter’s fingerprint was discovered on a vessel made some 5,000 years ago, creating a “poignant connection” to the people who lived and visited here.

Related Articles

New Evidence could Change the Date People First Arrived in North America

2 June 2021

2 June 2021

While investigating the origins of agriculture, researchers made an unexpected discovery. According to an unexpected finding made by an Iowa...

Roman-era marble sundial found for the first time in Turkey’s second Ephesus

26 September 2022

26 September 2022

Archaeologists have unearthed a Roman-era marble sundial in the ancient city of Aizanoi in the Çavdarhisar district of Kütahya province...

A 7,500-year-old settlement has been discovered in Turkey’s Domuztepe Mound

11 September 2021

11 September 2021

During the most recent excavations at Domuztepe Mound in the Türkoğlu district of southern Turkey’s Kahramanmaraş province, a settlement and...

Analysis of Ancient Scythian Leather Samples Shows Ancient Scythians Made Leather from Human Skin

20 December 2023

20 December 2023

The ancient Scythians’ history as fearsome warriors dates back more than 2,000 years, and now research from a multi-institutional team...

Oldest Direct Evidence for Honey Collecting in Africa

18 April 2021

18 April 2021

Honey is an important food source that has been considered a very important healing source in the history of civilizations....

Astonishing discovery in Kazakhstan: Bronze Age girl buried with more than 150 animal ankle bones

7 September 2023

7 September 2023

Archaeologists in eastern Kazakhstan have unearthed a Bronze Age burial mound of a girl surrounded by various grave goods in...

Ancient city site unearthed in Central China produces fortune-telling relics

8 February 2024

8 February 2024

Bone slips used for “fortune-telling activities” and “ancient sacrificial ceremonies” were unearthed during excavations at an archaeological site in Puyang,...

Archaeologists have found an intriguing Iron Age “shrine” in the Yorkshire Wolds

19 September 2021

19 September 2021

Archaeologists have discovered an interesting ancient Iron Age “shrine” in the Yorkshire Wolds, which was marked out by meticulously placed...

Bone workshop and oil lamp shop unearthed in Aizanoi ancient city in western Turkey

13 November 2021

13 November 2021

Archaeologists have unearthed a bone workshop and an oil lamp shop in an Aizanoi ancient city in the Çavdarhisar district...

In Fraueninsel in Lake Chiemsee: Romanesque a central building hidden underground for 1,000 years discovered

25 February 2024

25 February 2024

On Fraueninsel, an island in Germany’s Lake Chiemsee, archaeologists discovered a cult site that may have been slumbering underground for...

Excavations in Poland uncover Goth graves filled with ornate jewellery

17 August 2023

17 August 2023

A 2,000-year-old Goth burial site filled with ancient jewels has been discovered in Wda Landscape Park (Wdecki Park Krajobrazowy) near...

A long-lost branch of the Nile helped in building Egypt’s pyramids – Scientists Say

1 September 2022

1 September 2022

The Giza Pyramids are one of the world’s most iconic cultural landscapes, and they have fascinated humans for thousands of...

“Exceptionally rare” gold sword pommel given to Scottish national museums

24 October 2022

24 October 2022

An “exceptionally rare” solid gold sword pommel found by a metal detectorist near Blair Drummond, Stirling, has been acquired by...

World’s Oldest Pants was Made through Three Weaving Techniques

26 February 2022

26 February 2022

Back in 2014, a group of archaeologists discovered in China a pair of wool pants dating back to around 3,300...

Archaeologists reveal 4,000-year-old rock-cut tomb, artifacts in Saqqara

8 January 2024

8 January 2024

A team of Egyptian and Japanese archaeologists has unveiled a rock-cut tomb believed to be more than 4,000 years old...