Hans J Marter

5 May, 2008

SHETLAND Amenity Trust is looking for almost £8 million to showcase the islands’ most outstanding archaeological site, that has radically changed people's understanding of the iron age in Scotland.

The Old Scatness Broch is the best preserved iron age village in Britain, comprising of several round houses standing to at least first floor level with the well preserved remains of a massive broch at its centre.

For the last 12 years archaeologists from Bradford University have painstakingly removed layer upon layer of earth to reveal a pristine site that was inhabited for at least two millennia, and possibly for as long as 4,000 years.

The number of houses together with the evidence of metal working, trade (including Roman glass) and grain production indicate Old Scatness was an exceptionally rich and important place.

The amenity trust now wants to preserve the ancient village at the south end of the Shetland mainland by building a turf roof on a timber frame structure to enclose the whole site.


Excess stones from the excavation would be used to clad the building with a 'horn' shaped visitor centre attached to the southeast of the structure.

The trust and Edinburgh architects Groves Raines have presented this option as their preferred one to councillors in a private seminar. The estimated cost is £7.8 million.

Other options discussed in Groves Raines’ feasibility study are the "traditional approach", in which the site is consolidated and left to the elements, similar to the world famous Skara Brae, in Orkney, with a visitor centre and car park nearby. Cost: £4 million.

A third option is the construction of huge hangar to protect the site, though this has been dismissed for not fitting into the landscape. Estimated cost: £8 million.

The amenity trust's general manager Jimmy Moncrieff is confident that a case for a funding package of local and national bodies could be made.

He said if Shetland was serious about developing its heritage tourism industry the isles had to invest to make this world class site physically and intellectually accessible.

The trust hopes to develop Old Scatness as one of their key projects for tourism in Shetland, complementing the famous Jarlshof site nearby, which is managed by Historic Scotland.

The trust is also developing archaeological trails in Shetland with the south end focusing on the iron age, the island of Unst on the Viking period, and the west side on neolithic finds.

Mr Moncrieff said the trust would now approach the Heritage Lottery Fund for a development grant which would allow his team to draw up detailed plans and make a business case.

The trust is also to discuss the project with local funders such as the council, Shetland Development Trust and Shetland Charitable Trust.

"We believe this is a very positive project. In fact, it is ground breaking. We have here one of the best preserved iron age sites in northern Europe and developing this site would be adding to Shetland's magnetism to visitors.

"We have received a positive response from councillors, which gives us encouragement to look into the various funding possibilities. Clearly there is finite money in Shetland," he said.

The proposal ties in with existing trust plans to renovate the nearby Sumburgh lighthouse, work that could commence as early as next summer.

Work on preserving Old Scatness for future generations is unlikely to go ahead before 2012 or 2013.