Ness of Brodgar Stone Sources

Andrew Ziminski, over on X, points out " the diversity of stone that was brought from across the archipelago" in the neolithic building. It wasn't just monoliths they they brought from non-local sources.

We’re up on Orkney this week working on the Ness or Brodgar excavation. Even after 5000 years the masonry still tells of the skill of the stone workers in the accuracy of its build, the tightness of its dressed faces and the diversity of stone that was brought from across the… pic.twitter.com/9QI9MUt0gr

— CHURCH GOING with Andrew Ziminski FSA & SPAB 🇺🇦 (@natchjourneyman) August 5, 2024

There is a detailed blog post about the geology of the rocks at https://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/geology-matters-1-why-rock/ and  https://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/geology-matters-2-orkney-rocks/ and https://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/geology-matters-3-working-stone/

And for more detail: Rock matters: A geological basis for understanding the rock at the Ness of Brodgar. Dr Martha Johnson (2019) and her presentation video :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwTs-QVvB7U highlighting the Ness of Brodgar rocks that don’t fit the local geology and showing clues to their origins.