Back on site after a week away. A lot has happened. Small extensions in both Trench T and Trench Y.
A hearth has been discovered in Trench Y. Does that mean they will leave it open for next year instead of filling it in, as originally intended? Apparently this is unlikely. I guess with a site this big there has to be a limit on what can be worked on simultaneously.
I can relate that. There has to be a focus otherwise little or nothing is achieved. As I get older, I walk away from potential directions to take my work, in order to achieve something significant in the practice that suits my ability best. This is why I am here at the Ness and looking to pursue my artist’s research until it bears fruit.
In Trench T they will soon be removing a layer of small iron age structures so that they can excavate a larger Neolithic structure underneath
One of the questions I am asking the archaeologists is how they view the essentially destructive nature of excavation. Today I heard of an archaeologist who wept while one building was destroyed, in order to excavate another one below. It seems to be a matter of reconciling the destruction with the need to construct knowledge. If everything was left untouched we would not learn about anything.
