Old Scatness

Old Scatness is an archeological site on Scat Ness, near the village of Scatness, in the parish of Dunrossness in the south end of Mainland, Shetland, Scotland [1]. It consists of medieval, Viking, Pictish, and Iron Age remains and has been a settlement for thousands of years, each new generation adding buildings, and levelling off old ones [1]. Among the discoveries is an Iron Age broch [1]. The site was first identified during improvements to nearby Sumburgh Airport in the late 1970s, when construction of the airport perimeter road exposed part of the broch wall in a grassy mound [1]. The structure that emerged had likely been built more than 2,000 years earlier during the Iron Age [1]. Archaeological excavations began in 1995, led by the University of Bradford and supported by professional archaeologists, students and local volunteers [1]. Excavations have uncovered a multi-period settlement with broch, wheelhouses and later dwellings [1]. The broch still stands several metres high with a battered outer wall face [1].