Jarlshof and the Zenith of Iron Age Shetland
By Corey Anderson
Hoping to emulate the popularity of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney with tourists, the Shetland Islands hope to join them on the UNESCO World Heritage list with their proposed combination of culturally significant heritage sites, known as the “Zenith of Iron Age Shetland”. This proposal consists of three archaeological locations; Mousa, Old Scatness and Jarlshof.
The Broch of Mousa, believed to have been built around 300BC, is one of the best-preserved prehistoric buildings in Europe and the only one of the three not located on the Shetland mainland. This broch has a remarkably small diameter compared to others in Scotland, but far thicker walls which has made it a handy shelter for those shipwrecked over the years.
Old Scatness, in the south of the Shetland mainland, was first excavated due to airport improvements in the 1970s and has proven to be a significantly valuable research site since. Another Iron Age broch has been uncovered here, as well as a Pictish (later Iron Age) settlement. Viking era artefacts found at the site also indicate this settlement was reused during the Norse period, making this site an excellent resource for learning about the transition between Pictish and Viking culture.
Jarlshof, though takes that transitional education to another level. From just this one settlement, we have overlapping examples from late Neolithic housing to a Bronze Age village, another Iron Age broch, a Norse longhouse, a medieval farmstead, and 16th century laird’s house. In one of his novels, Sir Walter Scott branded this laird’s house, and by extension the settlement, as “Jarlshof” (the earl’s house). Located only a half hour walk away from Old Scatness, Jarlshof was hidden beneath the sand until being uncovered by a storm in the 1890s.
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