The Brodgar Stone

The Brodgar Stone in Christopher Gee's interpretation in colour.
The original Brodgar Stone. Photo from Nessofbrodgar blog, courtesy of Orkney Library Photographic Archive. The Brodgar Stone in Christopher Gee's interpretation in colour. Over the past few weeks I have been creating my own version of the Brodgar Stone as a present for friends. The original Brodgar Stone was found in 1925 at the Ness [...]Read more of The Brodgar Stone...

“Wrapped” carved stone ball from Hillhead, St Ola parish, Orkney

The form of this carved stone ball is based closely on a Late Neolithic ball found at Hillhead, St Ola, Orkney in the late 19th Century. The carved square patterns, chevrons and spiralling lines are also found on Orcadian Neolithic grooved ware pottery and decorated stonework. It is possible that the spiralling design and pleated chevron could provide a rare representation of an organic cord binding and wrapping around a carved stone ball that normally wouldn’t survive. This ball has been pecked and carved to shape by Orcadian archaeologist Christopher Gee using the same local stone tools and techniques as used in the Late Neolithic. The ball is made from Orkney Red Sandstone which has been used for its colour and texture in architecture at the Ness of Brodgar. The central upright column in Stucture 10’s central dresser was made from the same peck-dressed red sandstone. During the Middle Ages red sandstone was also used in St Magnus Cathedral and other high status Orcadian buildings.

The form of this carved stone ball is based closely on a Late Neolithic ball found at Hillhead, St Ola, Orkney in the late 19th Century. The carved square patterns, chevrons and spiralling lines are also found on Orcadian Neolithic grooved ware pottery and decorated stonework. It is possible that the spiralling design and pleated […]

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Making the Skara Brae three-pointed object

Stone sculpture by Chris Gee based on Skara Brae three-pointed object. Made for Historic Environment Scotland.
I have just finished making the Skara Brae sculpted stone object. It was commissioned by HES for the Rangers’ handling collection to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage designation. I began with a piece of T shaped flagstone, the same material as the original. I chipped it down to [...]Read more of Making the Skara Brae three-pointed object...

Brodgar Chocolate launches on 6th July 2016

We are really excited that our launch date is getting near! Our chocolate replicas of archaeological finds from the Ness of Brodgar will be for sale in the Ness of Brodgar site shop from the 6th of July, when the 2016 excavation opens to the public. We are proud of our two chocolate products: A […]

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