Introduction to Shetland Archaeology

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Introduction to Shetland Archaeology

• Neolithic Bronze Age 2

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Neolithic Bronze Age

• Between c.4000BC c.600BC
• Marked the beginning of a more settled farming
  existence, permanent field boundaries
  settlements appear.
• Diet dominated by crops domesticated animals
  but still includes wild resources e.g. sea food.
• Metal working (copper alloy bronze) in Scotland
  begins c. 2000BC but stone tools still routinely
  used.

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Clothing personal equipment

• Reconstructions of the clothing and appearance of
  Otzi (the Neolithic iceman found in the Alps
  near the Austro-Italian border in 1991).

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Clothing personal equipment

• Among equipment found with Otzi
• Flint knife
• Birch bark containers
• 1.82m bow quiver with arrows
• Tree-bast string net
• More information on
• Otzi

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Pottery

• Made from coils of clay with tempers (grit,
  shell etc) added to bind it.
• Fired in a bonfire kiln a pit lined with
  sticks, straw and charcoal, the air dried pottery
  is placed inside then more straw etc packed
  around it. The fire is lit and sealed over with
  turf.
• Red pottery indicates oxygen penetrating the turf
  seal during firing, black indicates a well sealed
  oxygen-free firing.

Neolithic bowl (Sumburgh)
Bronze Age cremation urn (Flemington, Kergord)
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Rough stone tools

• Practical everyday tools, these continued in use
  through the Bronze Age

Examples from Gruting school excavation (top) and
Sumburgh (bottom), dating from the Neolithic and
Bronze age respectively.
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Polished stone tools

• Generally show little or no wear and are
  thought to be ceremonial rather than functional
  objects

Shetland knives (unique to Shetland), made from
highly polished felsite, these examples were
found near Walls
Neolithic polished stone axes, from the
mainland, Angus (top), and Shetland,
Cunningsburgh (below).
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Polished Stone Axe (Levenwick)
Neolithic polished stone axe found at Virdi
field, Levenwick during peat cutting in 1919
Location where the axe was found.
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Polished Stone Axe (South Nesting)

• South Nesting blog entry

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Making sense of prehistoric landscapes

• Over the last 20yrs archaeologists have been
  increasingly interested in making sense of
  landscapes as they may have been experienced in
  the past.
• The following slides introduce some recent work
  Simon (Clarke) and I have been doing on the
  Neolithic Bronze Age landscapes of Shetland,
  specifically Stanydale temple and the houses
  and chambered cairns at Islesburgh and
  Pundswater.

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Stanydale Temple
Following slides based on our 2009 conference
paper (full version online) A Processional but
not Processual Approach to Stanydale Neolithic
Temple
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Stanydale Temple

• Neolithic or early Bronze Age structure
• Originally roofed, using non-native timber,
  probably driftwood
• Monumental in scale, 3 times larger than a
  typical house
• Privileged household rather than temple?

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View from the Door Passage

• Passage over 3m long
• Orientated towards a pair of standing stones

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Marker Stones

• Beyond the near horizon from the temple.

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Loch of Gruting Enclosure

• Pre-modern earthwork on the line of the approach
  to the temple.
• Temple 900m away and over the near horizon

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Skyline Notch and Markers

• View to the notch from the Gruting Enclosure
• Notch disappears on the approach, necessitating
  markers.

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Landmarks on the Route

• Stone Structure?
• Marker Stones ?
• Spring / pool

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Stream Crossing
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Temple Revealed and Sky lined

• Temple had been concealed by a steep bank

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Stream on the Approach Line

• Approach to the Temple
• Looking back to standing stones

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Temple Façade

• Curved façade, clearly designed to be viewed from
  the front.

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Modern route
Original route
More information on the modern and original
experiences of Stanydale can also be found on
Simon and Is various blog entries
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Islesburgh (nr Mavis Grind)
Following slides based on Simon Clarkes 2009
conference paper (full version online) Crossing
to the Other Side representing the journey of
life in Neolithic Shetland
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Mavis Grind, Islesburgh and the Minn

• Well preserved Neolithic landscape occupying the
  north shore.

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The Minn from the North

• Outlet to the Atlantic closed in the Neolithic

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Tomb and Enclosure Compared

• Tomb façade similar to the loch shore
• Tomb curb similar to the enclosure dyke
• Position of the tomb chamber similar to that of
  the house within the enclosure

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Sight Lines to the Sea

• House and tomb have very specific sight lines

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Pundswater
House
Chambered cairn
More information can be found on Simon Clarkes
blog entry for this site.
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Chambered cairn entrance aligned with spring
autumn equinox
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Alignment of house entrance with the hilltop
Both house and chambered cairn entrance point at
the same hilltop
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Modern cairn on possible prehistoric cairn at
summit of hill