DIVIDING AND ENCLOSING THE LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN PREHISTORIC SCOTLAND
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2020-10-08

The rarely paralleled preservation of extensive prehistoric houses, field systems and burial monuments in the West Mainland of Shetland affords unique opportunities for understanding prehistoric landscape management. The remains, preserved by the spread of peat and the lack of subsequent intensive plough-based agriculture, are widely considered to date from the Neolithic - Bronze Age. Despite their impressive preservation, the remains on Shetland have received comparatively little archaeological attention. This paper presents the results of a programme of mapping, using high-resolution aerial photographs, that explores the extent and spatial distribution of upstanding prehistoric remains within the landscape of the West Mainland. The mapping was complemented by the excavation of one such settlement site which revealed a complex sequence of remodelling and reuse. Previous investigations of these Neolithic/Bronze Age landscapes are characterised by conformity to a paradigm of orderly agricultural plots and settlements. However, the results of this new programme of mapping and excavation revealed striking levels of variation and development within the landscape suggestive of different resource exploitation. It is far from clear that there is development from simple to complex field systems (as has been assumed and suggested previously in Shetland), and this has implications for how we view prehistoric resource management. The unique preservation of landscapes in Shetland also allows for an exploration of how these prehistoric remains became a valuable resource themselves in later periods, from the Bronze Age through to the present day.

Author(s): Christie, Claire (University of Aberdeen)