Excavation teams return to the Ness of Brodgar and Rousay

The covers come off at the Ness of Brodgar excavation site tomorrow, Monday, with the 2016 season looking set to be one of the busiest to date.

The dig, now in its twelfth season, will see excavators from all over the globe converge on Stenness for eight weeks of work on the remains of a Neolithic complex.

Although the archaeologists are back on site on Monday, the first two days will be spent uncovering the site and preparing for this season. As a result, the guided tours of the dig will not resume until Wednesday, July 6.

Meanwhile, Rousay will also see the start of two excavations on Monday — the continuation of dig at the multi-period site at the Knowe of Swandro, which runs until July 29, and another at the Skaill farmstead, running until July 8.