Archaeologists are back at The Cairns

A team of archaeologists, led by Orkney College lecturer Martin Carruthers, return to an Iron Age settlement in South Ronaldsay tomorrow, Monday.

The 2016 excavation — the tenth season on site — at The Cairns begins on Monday, June 13, and ends on July 8.

One of the main priorities this year will be to find out more about the underground “well” structure found in the closing days of last year’s dig.

Overlooking Windwick Bay, The Cairns is a massive archaeological jigsaw puzzle, with a sequence of Iron Age buildings, representing centuries of use, clustered around a massive, well-preserved broch.

Speaking on Friday, Martin said: “We have a number of priorities this year. Obviously, we’ll be looking to fund out more about our ‘well’ under the floor of the broch and we’ll be, finally, removing the final area of rubble from the interior of the broch and begin a substantial excavation of the floor deposits.

“We’re also looking to further investigate the metalworking area to the north of the broch structure, excavate the souterrain to the east and find out more about the village that clustered around the Iron Age tower.”

Click here for pictures of previous excavation season.