Old Scatness facts for kids
Aerial view of the archaeological dig
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 Location in Shetland
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| Location | Mainland, Shetland |
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| Coordinates | 59°52′44″N 1°18′19″W / 59.879°N 1.3054°W |
| Type | Broch and settlement |
| History | |
| Periods | Iron Age, Pictish, Viking |
Old Scatness is an amazing archaeological site located in the Shetland islands, near Sumburgh Airport. It's like a time capsule, showing how people lived thousands of years ago! Here, you can find remains from the Iron Age, Pictish times, Viking times, and even the Middle Ages.
This place has been a home for people for a very long time. Each new group of people built on top of what was already there. One of the most exciting discoveries is an Iron Age broch, which is a type of ancient stone tower.
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How Old Scatness Was Found and Dug Up
This incredible site was first found by accident in the late 1970s. Workers were building new parts for the airport when they uncovered a curved stone wall. This wall was part of a large, green mound.
Since 1995, experts from the University of Bradford have been carefully digging here. They work with students, other archaeologists, and local volunteers. Their hard work has revealed a settlement with many layers from different time periods. They found the main broch, special roundhouses called wheelhouses, and other buildings.
The Shetland Amenity Trust helps manage and protect Old Scatness. In the summer, you can visit and see people dressed in old costumes. They give tours and show you what life was like in the Iron Age and Pictish times. There's also a visitor centre with exhibits and demonstrations of ancient crafts.
What is a Broch?
The main building at Old Scatness is a broch. It's a tall, round stone tower that still stands several metres high. The broch is right in the middle of the settlement. It seems to have been used in at least three main ways over time.
First, the original tower was built. Later, people changed the inside of the broch. They added a new inner wall and stone supports to create a different layout. In its third phase, another building was put inside the broch. This building had six or more curved rooms around a central area. A hallway led out towards the broch's outer wall.
Buildings West of the Broch
To the west of the broch, closer to the sea, archaeologists found more buildings. The most important one was a large, roundhouse called Structure 12. It was about 10 metres wide and its walls are still over 2 metres tall in some places.
Further west, there was another building, but it wasn't as well preserved. To the south of Structure 12, there was another roundhouse, Structure 14. It was similar in size but shaped more like an oval. North of Structure 12, there were more buildings. One of these had seven small "cupboards" built into its inner wall.
Buildings East of the Broch
A little later, another roundhouse, Structure 21, was built to the east of the broch. This was the biggest building found on the site, about 12 metres wide inside. It originally had short stone supports, which were later rebuilt to be longer and thinner.
There was also a wheelhouse (Structure 11) to the southeast of the broch. Another building, Structure 5, was built into the remains of Structure 21. This building had many small rooms and was partly underground. It is a good example of how the Pictish people built their homes.
Later Uses of the Site
Even after the Iron Age, people continued to use Old Scatness. Viking items have been found in the later Iron Age buildings. This suggests that the Norse people, or Vikings, used these buildings too.
The site was also used much later, in the 1600s. Archaeologists found a barn and a corn-drier from that time. On the north side of the site, there was even a crofthouse built in the mid-1800s. Old Scatness truly shows how people lived and built homes for thousands of years!
Images for kids
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An ancient wheelhouse at Old Scatness
