Dig diary 6th July 10 days in: before & after

Hard to believe that 10 days have gone by since we started the 2018 Swandro dig and also hard to believe just how much stone we've shifted to go from how it looked when we arrived this year ......

Swandro when we arrived this year - looking northwest across the site

...to how it looks after a lot of slaving under the hot sun to move about 20 tonnes of stone by hand:

The chambered tomb appearing on the beach

Similarly the area above the chamber has gone from this.....

Area above the chamber of the tomb being opened up

by dint of much hard work to this:

Cleaned up area with later buildings above tomb

All in all it's been a backbreaking, sweaty, klegg-ridden 10 days, but it's all worth it to see the site looking so good. I do feel sorry for Peter, who's been volunteering with us for the last week and working very hard indeed, but now has to return to his real job saving lives as a neurosurgeon in Aberdeen, just when we've got to the real archaeology:

A cheery Peter in his stylish hat

Thanks Peter, and we hope to see you back again next year.

We've also got a big event coming up on Saturday the 14th of July in the Rousay School and community garden - it's our Viking camp and cookout, together with our 'Meet the Specialists' in the school hall. We're delighted that Jackie McKinley of the Time Team, who is digging with us for two weeks, has agreed to be one of our specialists. Come along and meet her - she may even sign autographs and let you take a selfie with you if you ask her very nicely!

We've got our next 'Swandro Sunday' coming up too- please do try to visit us if you can, we'd love to see you.

I'm off to raise a bottle or two (or possibly three or four) in celebration of surviving the heatwave and to brace for another week of unremitting toil under our harsh taskmasters:

Steve & Lindsay plotting their next moves