Description

The monument consists of the remains of a prehistoric house and field system on the E-facing slope overlooking the head of Stromness Voe.

The house is oval in plan, some 15m by 12m. It has had an entrance from the ESE, and four large boulders protruding from the centre represent internal subdivisions of the living space. Outside the entrance traces of curving dykes may represent a forecourt, but have been partly obscured by use as a sheep shelter. A number of fragmentary stretches of walling occur nearby, while a more well- preserved enclosure lies 60m to the E, and runs down to the water of the voe. This may be contemporary, although it has clearly been used more recently.

The area to be scheduled is rectangular, 130m WNW-ESE by 80m NNE-SSW, bounded on the E by the high-water mark of the shore, to include the house, forecourt, enclosure and traces of walling, together with an area around these in which traces of activities associated with their construction and use may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a small prehistoric settlement with clear potential to provide information, through excavation and analysis, which could light upon the nature of prehistoric agriculture and the economic and social organisation of life in pre Iron Age Shetland.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as HU 43 NE 2.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland