Time Team and Ness of Brodgar Team Reveal New Discoveries at Iconic Neolithic Site
Tuesday 25 November, 2025 – The world-renowned archaeological investigation series, Time Team, has joined forces with the Ness of Brodgar research team to unveil groundbreaking discoveries at one of Europe’s most important Neolithic sites.
In the summer of 2024, Time Team filmed the final season of excavation at the Ness of Brodgar, a vast complex of Neolithic buildings located between the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar on the Mainland in Orkney. Although the trenches have been backfilled, the investigation continued with a cutting-edge geophysical survey in partnership with the Ness team.
For Dr. John Gater of Time Team, it was a homecoming of sorts. Over 20 years ago, his early geophysical work played a crucial role in identifying the remarkable settlement that would later capture the world’s attention as the Ness of Brodgar.
The results of the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey, conducted in collaboration with Guideline Geo and SUMO GeoSurveys, exceeded all expectations. The survey revealed the locations of several previously unknown Neolithic buildings, some of which were monumental in size. These new findings have expanded the known footprint of the complex and provided a deeper understanding of its development over 5,000 years ago.
But one discovery stood out among the rest. When the geophysical results were shared with the Ness project directors – Nick Card, Professor Mark Edmonds, and Anne Mitchell – their reaction said it all.
“We weren’t expecting that,” exclaimed Director Nick Card.
“The new buildings are fascinating, but there’s one feature unlike anything we’ve seen before,” added Anne Mitchell.
Laughing, Mark Edmonds chimed in, “Oh dear, perhaps I shouldn’t have buried my trowel on site.”
These findings have raised the possibility that, even after two decades of excavation, the Ness still holds secrets that require a final, targeted look. Time Team will join the Ness team in the summer of 2026 for one last excavation season, culminating in a special Time Team episode to be broadcast later that year.
This partnership between Time Team and Orkney has been decades in the making, with previous collaborations including the 1998 Viking boat burial on Sanday, the Iron Age site at Mine Howe in 2000, and the recent work at Swandro on Rousay in 2025. The Ness of Brodgar has been a defining project for modern archaeology, garnering international attention and revolutionizing our understanding of Neolithic Britain.
Creator and Executive Producer of Time Team, Tim Taylor, expressed his gratitude for being able to follow the Ness story for over 20 years. “To return now – at the end of its excavation phase – and to contribute new discoveries of this scale is extraordinary. The Ness continues to surprise us all.”
The recent resurgence of Time Team, fueled by the world’s largest global online audience for archaeology, has allowed the team to reconnect with sites of great significance. Their expansion of the classic three-day format into long-form documentaries, including recent projects at Sutton Hoo and other major sites across the UK, has brought a new level of depth, analysis, and public engagement to their investigations.
The Ness of Brodgar is located within the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, one of the most significant prehistoric landscapes in Europe. Tens of thousands of visitors travel to Orkney each summer to witness the excavations before they closed in 2024. Time Team’s new documentary will share the final chapter of this groundbreaking project, featuring expert insights, reconstructed models, geophysics visualizations, and exclusive interviews with the Ness of Brodgar team.
The documentary will explore the final season of excavation at the Ness, the emotional conclusion of two decades of fieldwork, the new geophysical discoveries, and what they reveal about life, ritual, and architecture 5,000 years ago. The film will also cover the new month-long excavation in 2026, making it one of the most significant Neolithic investigations ever released by Time Team.
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