Every place has a story and Newark in Deerness is no exception. Down by the shore, at the eastern end of the bay bearing the same name, tradition has it that centuries before there had been a small church with a graveyard. Such a building would have been a landmark from the sea, and there it is, clearly marked on 16th Century maps.

Over the years the coast has changed dramatically due to high tides and violent storms driven in by strong, southerly winds. The site has been under threat for some time, with erosion increasing drastically over the last hundred years.

In 1968, before more of the site could disappear, the eminent anthropologist, Professor Don Brothwell, started excavating the graveyard with the help of volunteers, including students from York University. The dig was financed by the Natural History Museum, London, and over several years more than 200 skeletons were removed and are still in their care. Since 2000, other skeletal material has been excavated and is now respectfully stored at the Orkney Museum. Carbon dating has given an astonishing range, from approximately 600AD to 1400AD, covering Pictish, Norse and Medieval periods. It is one of the earliest Christian graveyards in the North Atlantic region. In 2016 a Pictish sculptured cross fragment was discovered eroding from the banks, further underlining its importance.

For various reasons, Don Brothwell had not managed to complete/publish papers on all his Newark findings by the time of his death in 2016. The Newark Project has sought to rectify that, with new scientific research and the retrieval and archiving of as much information as possible. Thanks to a major grant from Historic Environment Scotland, the programme is underway. The culmination of the Newark project was to have been featured in this exhibition, but COVID-19 has played havoc with the timescale, so this is very much ‘the story so far’.