This paper describes a hitherto unidentified adaptation in Grooved Ware pottery at the Ness of Brodgar, Orkney ( Fig. 1 ). The technological technique adopted appears designed to cope with a common problem of Grooved Ware potters at the Ness: that of detached cordons, where applied decorative cordons on the exterior surface of the vessels are knocked off or simply fall off. The evidence shows that, in the case of one large pottery deposit from the site, some vessel exteriors were specially prepared in order to ensure cordon adhesion. The Ness of Brodgar site is introduced, issues surrounding pottery production and applied decoration in the Late Neolithic, particularly in Orkney, are noted and the problem-solving sherds are described. The paper is illustrated in part by the use of Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI).
