Further excavations will be taking place at Underhoull in June and July 2008.
Situated close to the roadside, about a mile and a half along the road to the Westing, this site has been more exciting than anyone imagined and will be well worth a visit next season.
Trenches were laid across the top and middle of the house. It soon became clear that the site was covered in an unusually late layer of peat which was up to 40cm deep! Samples were taken for analysis over the winter to help us understand how quickly the peat has formed. Evidence such as pollen will be a good indicator. It may be that dramatic climatic change was responsible for the site being finally abandoned.
In the top layers of our two trenches several hundred artefacts were recovered. The first week produced a hugely exciting discovery that has become known as the 'Little Man' (below)- a unique steatite carving that appears to be a human figure. We found several loom weights, some of them carved with crosses, perhaps to identify their place in the pattern. There were also whetstones, some made from schist, which are typically Viking.
A patch of vibrant red soil in the corner of the top trench contained a large area of slag. It appears to be fuel ash slag (ie from use of a fuel with a high silica content). The trench across the middle of the house revealed a side room and a large flagged outer yard. At the opposite side of the house there are hints of another side room too. A small trench investigated a field boundary running close to the building. Although we cannot tell yet when it was constructed, fragments of steatite vessels were found there.
The excavation was called to a halt before we reached the floor surface inside the house, to preserve the fragile evidence for full excavation in 2008. The peat has caused the site to be waterlogged, so there is great potential for finding material such as wood, which doesn't often occur on archaeological sites in Shetland. Waterlogging means that oxygen is not present so the bacteria that would normally destroy such organic remains can not survive. Now we know what the site conditions are like we can make preparations for the best possible sampling and recovery of information in the coming season.
Bradford University are bringing a wide range of scientific techniques to bear at Hamar and Underhoull, many of which have been refined at the Old Scatness Broch excavations. To find out more have a look at the Old Scatness and Jarlshof Environs Project