Late Bronze Age and Iron Age pottery in the Shetland Isles : a synopsis of design, construction methods and typological trends
Abstract
Within the Shetland Museum’s archaeological collection are many thousands of pre-
historic pottery sherds. There are also many stray finds brought into the museum by
members of the public who have come across eroding prehistoric sites.
The Shetland pottery collection has never been studied as a whole; pottery
assemblages were examined at the time of their excavation, and have not been
reviewed since. A large portion of the collection has never been investigated.
Recent archaeological excavations in Shetland, including Old Scatness, Bayanne
and Burland, have provided scientific dating of contexts containing pottery.
This study has reviewed eight Late Bronze Age and Iron Age assemblages.
Diagnostic sherds from each site have been analysed using a specific data set
offering a collective narrative from across the Islands. Comparing the findings of this
study with examples from scientifically dated sites, the analysis has highlighted
obvious trends in pottery manufacture and design during both periods.
Many outstanding questions have been answered, including revised dates for
unpublished sites, Greista and Ness of Sound, which were excavated in the 1970s.
Many of Shetland Museum’s ‘stray finds’, re-assessed here are now better
understood, and new information added to the Museum’s database.
This study has provided Shetland Museum’s first digital reference collection of the
Island’s late prehistoric pottery assemblages. The ultimate objective of this research
is to make this information available within Shetland Museum’s website, offering an
online resource for a worldwide audience, enabling the Museum to offer one of its
fundamental functions as a public service; making the collection accessible to its
owners, the community.
Type
Thesis, MPhil Master of Philosophy
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