Norby

HU 1988 5743 A programme of archaeological work was undertaken 2–7 April 2012 during ground-breaking works associated with the construction of a house on agricultural land at Norby. The site was considered sensitive due to its proximity to a number of known archaeological sites including a possible souterrain (SMR 225) and the site of a 13th-century Romish chapel and burial ground dedicated to St Ninian (SMR 225). An evaluation of the proposed footprint of the house by EASE Archaeology had also identified the remains of a substantial dry stone structure and cut feature on the E of the site, and a possible sunken feature. The site of the house was altered to avoid these features and a watching brief was undertaken during ground-breaking works. This resulted in the identification and investigation of a number of features.

Feature 1: A dry stone structure with internal partitions was identified during excavation of the NE corner of the site. The feature was not fully investigated as it extended beyond the development area to the E and N. A fragment of prehistoric pottery, possibly Iron Age, was recovered from the stony infill of the structure. The remains were left in situ and the area back filled with sandbags.

Feature 2: A negative feature consisting of a steep-sided pit, c1m wide x 0.6m deep, filled with stony deposits of reddish brown silty clay. A fragment of prehistoric pottery, possibly Iron Age, was recovered from the upper (secondary) fill of this feature.

Features 3–6: A series of pits or postholes, measuring 0.3–0.6m wide by 0.4m deep, were identified to the NE of Feature 2. They were uniformly steep-sided and filled by single deposits of reddish brown silty clay with very frequent inclusions of sub-angular stones. Finds of prehistoric pottery, possibly Iron Age, were recovered from Features 3, 4 and 5. A hammerstone or pounder was also recovered from the fill of Feature 5.

Features 7–9: A group of features consisting of a large shallow sub-rectangular pit, 2.2m wide E–W by 4.2m long N–S and between 0.1–0.4m deep, filled with a very stony silt deposit and large rubble. The edges of the pit were truncated by four postholes, one located roughly in each corner of the sub-rectangular feature. Finds from this feature consisted of pumice and prehistoric, possibly Iron Age, pottery.

The excavations also identified the foundation course of a N–S running 19th-century dry stone dyke (Feature 10), which was partially demolished during excavations. It appears that a large area in the centre of the site had been levelled during the construction of the dyke, which may have led to some truncation or disturbance of Features 2–9. A quern stone and a hammerstone were recovered from the dyke wall, indicating that elements of earlier prehistoric features may have been incorporated into it. Further disturbance caused by the construction of a road, which lies directly to the W of the site and a pair of modern sheds had also affected the preservation of the possible sunken feature identified by EASE.

The pit feature and associated postholes may be the remnants of some form of structure, though its uneven base and the absence of any evidence for an occupation surface suggest that it may not have been a domestic building. The stratigraphic relationships between the negative features, the similarities in the composition of their fills and the uniform nature of the pottery recovered from the different contexts suggests a contemporary possibly Iron Age date. Further work would be required to establish if they were related to the partial remains of the sunken feature to the S of the postholes and the structural remains to the N identified by EASE.

Assessment of the plant remains recovered through the flotation of bulk soil samples from the negative features and associated deposits showed that the remains were relatively rich in charred plant remains. These mainly represented items frequently used as a fuel source (peat, heather and charcoal), and wild taxa indicative of heathland/marsh environments. A number of barley grains were also recovered from the samples, mainly from pit Feature 2.

Archive: Rick Barton (currently). RCAHMS and Shetland Museum (intended). Report: Shetland SMR

Funder: Raymond Garrick

Rick Barton, Rick Barton Archaeological Consultancy

Zoe Outram,

2012