This page gives some information about the various organisations involved in archaeology in Orkney and how to contact them.
Orkney County Archaeologist
Julie Gibson is the current county archaeologist for Orkney – she is based in the Archaeology Department at Orkney College UHI and provides archaeological advice to the Orkney Islands Council planning department. Julie is also responsible for the Orkney Sites & Monuments Record.
Julie can be contacted by email or on 01856 569341.
Orkney College UHI Archaeology Department
The Archaeology Department runs the Masters in Archaeological Practice course taking students from all over the world and providing training in the practical side of being a professional archaeologist. The college also runs BA(Hons) degree courses in Archaeology, Scottish History and Archaeology, and Archaeology and Environmental Studies.
More information about the department and contact details can be found on their website.
ORCA – Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology
ORCA is based in the Archaeology Department and undertakes research and commercial archaeology. All the Archaeology Department’s excavation projects are managed through ORCA. ORCA also provides teaching to the Masters in Archaeological Practice course.
ORCA can be contacted by email or on 01856 569345. Further information can also be found on the ORCA website.
OCGU – Orkney College Geophysics Unit
OCGU is based in the Archaeology Department and undertakes research and commercial geophysics work. The unit is also spearheading the new Masters in Shallow Geophysics and provides geophysics teaching to the Masters in Archaeological Practice course. Further information on the Geophysics Unit can be found by clicking here and the Unit can be contacted on 01856 569212.
Orkney Museum Service
The Museum Service runs several museums in Orkney including the flagship Tankerness House Museum in Kirkwall. The museum service also manages the Museum Collection storage facility in Finstown which holds a world class research collection of Orkney Archaeological artefacts. More information can be found on the Orkney Museum website or by telephoning the Orkney Museum on 01856 873191
This list is not exhaustive – other organisations will appear here soon!
Other university teams also visit Orkney on a regular basis – all the digs we know about go onto the Excavations Page, so you can see if there’s anyone up at the moment.