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Loch Of Garths

Burnt Mound (Prehistoric)

Site Name Loch Of Garths

Classification Burnt Mound (Prehistoric)

Canmore ID 1206

Site Number HU46SE 3

NGR HU 48439 60256

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/1206

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council Shetland Islands
  • Parish Nesting
  • Former Region Shetland Islands Area
  • Former District Shetland
  • Former County Shetland

Archaeology Notes

HU46SE 3 4843 6026.

(Area: HU 483 602) A burnt mound lies at the NW corner of the Loch of Garths.

RCAHMS 1946.

At HU 4844 6027 there is a crescentic mound of burnt stones measuring 15.0m by 6.0m and 1.3m high.

Surveyed at 1/2500.

Visited by OS (NKB) 6 May 1968.

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

HU 4843 6026; HU 2334 7752; HU 3755 3230; HU 4815 4231 A programme to recover samples from burnt mounds for thermoluminescence dating was carried out at Loch of Garths, Nesting, Tangwick, Eshaness, Houlls, East Burra and Cruester, Bressay. All of the sites had previously been assessed as part of the 1996 Shetland Burnt Mounds Project (DES 1996, 91-2).

Sponsor: Historic Scotland

H Moore and G Wilson 2000

Activities

Field Visit (14 August 1930)

A burnt mound lies at the NW corner of the Loch of Garths.

RCAHMS 1946,visited 14 August 1930.

Field Visit (1996)

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

Thermoluminescence Dating (1996)

HU 4843 6026; HU 2334 7752; HU 3755 3230; HU 4815 4231 A programme to recover samples from burnt mounds for thermoluminescence dating was carried out at Loch of Garths, Nesting, Tangwick, Eshaness, Houlls, East Burra and Cruester, Bressay. All of the sites had previously been assessed as part of the 1996 Shetland Burnt Mounds Project (DES 1996, 91-2).

Sponsor: Historic Scotland

H Moore and G Wilson 2000

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