Preliminary inspection of Stonehall's trench B following last year's initial excavation. Previously we have examined both sites and some people may have seen the web site for Crossiecrown which was produced last year. This examination, however, has previously been on a small scale due to financial constraints. This year we have managed to secure substantial grants from Historic Scotland, Orkney Island Council, University of Glasgow, University of Manchester and University College Dublin. Our transportation to Orkney has once again been kindly supported by Orcargo. These funds will allow us to excavate both sites simultaneously with teams from all the above mentioned Universities, and it can be guaranteed from the outset that our discoveries will be little less than spectacular. We know this from the results of our previous small-scale examinations of both sites. It is intended to document these discoveries almost as they happen on this web site, and you will be able to follow both excavations and the excitement of discovery that each generates as it proceeds over the next four weeks. You will also get to know the people involved and the impressions and interpretations they have of the different sites. Interestingly, it will soon become apparent that each person interprets the archaeological evidence a little differently and frequently ideas change drastically as new evidence comes to light. We hope you will enjoy sharing these discoveries with us and hopefully you too will form your own views of both the nature of each site and the way we interpret them. It is hard to describe the sense of anticipation which is felt at the beginning of an excavation. This not only involves the promise of discovery, but also the intimate contact between the present and the past; the archaeologists and the materials which were made and used, in our case some 5-6000 years ago, by people who were so very different from ourselves. Excavating in Orkney seems to highlight this feeling of difference probably because it involves crossing the ocean. This is always a very pleasurable occurrence because we sail from Invergordon to Orkney with Orcargo in their fine ship The Contender. Indeed, this passage is in itself an adventure as it involves an overnight trip in a very comfy cabin with a fine breakfast assured for the following morning. This year the trip was as good as ever and we arrived in Kirkwall on Saturday 7th August.

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