A new exhibition has opened at St Ninian’s Kirk, Deerness where the stories of those who settled and lived in the parish is being told.

The Newark Project is an extensive and longitudinal insight into the people who lived, worked and died in this part of Deerness. The panels around the church contain lots of information and details about how the project has unfolded over the decades and what has been discovered.

From the Bronze Age, to the Picts and the Norse settlements, this extensive archaeological project is also part of a rescue operation to save the remains of the ancestors who once lived in these islands from the impact of a crumbling coastline which is exposing grave sites.

Working with many academic organisations and local volunteers this is an ongoing project. Dundee University is employing the latest technology to reconstruct what some of the Norse settlers might have looked like. DNA analysis is also able to tell the stories of the lives of ordinary people – what their working life was like and the illnesses they had to deal with.

The exhibition also takes a look at the geology of the area around this bay and fertile land.

The current research being undertaken is funded by Historic Environment Scotland. There is so much more to discover.

There’s a lot to see, read and think about in this exhibition. It is open Wednesday and Sunday at St Ninian’s Kirk, Deerness, from 2 to 4pm. Entry is by donation. This is an exhibition to return to as more is uncovered from the ongoing research.

Fiona Grahame

The Friends of St Ninian’s

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