United Kingdom - Mousa, Old Scatness and Jarlshof: the Zenith of Iron Age Shetland

"Old Scatness Lat/Long: 59:52:44.927N 1:18:19.775W
Jarlshof Lat/Long: 59:52:7.475N 1:17:27.839W
Mousa Lat/Long: 59:59:42.943N 1:10:55.421W

The Iron Age in Europe was a time of dramatic cultural and architectural changes. The inhabitants of Iron Age Shetland, a largely treeless landscape, were forced to build their constructions in stone. The resulting drystone structures are the zenith of prehistoric architectural achievement in Northern Europe. Three distinctive sites, located at the south end of Shetland: Mousa, Old Scatness and Jarlshof, outstanding in terms of their original construction and in surviving the ravages of time, provide some of the most significant examples of the European Iron Age in an area outside the Roman Empire.

Old Scatness and Jarlshof are situated within a mile of one another, Mousa is situated on the first island to the north on the west coast. Each of the three sites displays a different and distinctive facet of Iron Age architecture. The three elements which comprise the nomination each portray an exceptional part of the wider story of the Zenith of Iron Age Shetland, particularly with regards to its evolution through this period. Together, their Outstanding Universal Value is greater than the sum of the parts and comprises a tribute to the capacity of humans to adapt to and live in a harsh, windswept, environment.

Brochs, meaning strong or fortified places in Old Norse, are massive, circular, double skinned, drystone towers that would have dominated the landscape of Iron Age Northern and Western Scotland. Those in Mousa, built more than 2,000 years ago, were exceptional feats of engineering for the society of that period. Old Scatness provides clear evidence of the immensely large, single walled, stone built roundhouses that succeeded brochs. Iron Age society lasted here for a period of more than 1,000 years and remarkably details how broch society developed and flourished. Jarlshof, meanwhile, is internationally renowned for its well preserved, multi period remains that span over 4,000 years of human achievement and provides the best surviving examples anywhere of Iron Age wheelhouses." Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

From Lerwick, the northern most city in Scotland in the rugged Shetland Islands. A multiview showing at top right of the Iron Age ruins of Shetland Islands. Thanks to Michael of South Africa.