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Publication Account

Date 1997

Event ID 1017085

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Publication Account

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1017085

The ramparts and ditches encircling the ruined broch are still very impressive. The Viking farm lies on the slope of the hill about 200m below the broch, with access to the sheltered bay of Lunda Wick. The site was excavated in the 1960s and left open; although overgrown, the walls of the house are still clear, as is some of the stonework of the earlier iron-age farm on top of which the Viking house was built. Although little of the earlier buildings could be traced without demolishing the Viking Age remains, the corner that was exposed had an angular corner and an opening into a small earth-house. This building had been replaced by another in which there was pottery contemporary in date with brochs. This may be a rare example of a 'peasant' dwelling close to a high-status broch.

The site had been deserted for many years before the Norsemen built their hall-house along the contour of the slope. The west end was rounded and the east end had a straight gable, and later annexes were attached to the south wall close to the main doorway. Artefacts from the site included a line-sinker for fishing, fragments of vessels and fragments of gaming boards, all made of steatite; they are in the Shetland Museum, along with an iron axe of Scandinavian type which was found in an eroding midden on the shore of Lunda Wick.

Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Shetland’, (1997).

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