West Burra, Bight Of The Sandy Geos

HU32NE 10 3590 2941

See also HU33SE 43.

Situated on the north margin of the valley on sloping ground immediately on the cliff edge. A stream runs against its north side. The irregular shape can possibly be attributed to erosion; it is roughly oriented east-west, is c.7 by 5m and varies in height between 1 and 1.5m. The destruction of the mound has revealed several large earthfast stones but no definite trace of any structure; there is a square shaped alignment of stones in the west extremity of the mound.

J W Hedges 1984.

A group of burnt mounds vulnerable to coastal erosion in Shetland was surveyed in Spring 1996. Rescue excavation conducted at one of these sites, Tangwick, uncovered a burnt mound in close association with a specialized, non-domestic structure of Bronze Age date. It is concluded that Tangwick represents a distinct site type, previously little recognized, and it is proposed that such sites may have been used for feasting, possibly on a seasonal basis. More broadly, the results of survey work indicate that burnt mounds in Shetland are not a homogenous class of site and this variety has not been adequately accounted for within the prevailing models.

H Moore and G Wilson 1999.