The Auld Village - Skerries, Shetland.

03/06/2021

Unfortunately I didn't have a proper plan table to complete a "official" scaled plan of the site. I completed on by observations and drawings from the highest points at the Auld Village.
Once I drew as many of the features and structures I could see I drew the plan up onto a computer program.
It's basic but effective. There is a key for reference of what's been observed.

03/06/2021

Here is some photos of some of the pages of my dissertation I completed at university about the artefacts and structures from the Auld Village.
The introduction gives you a good map of the UK and the location of Skerries in Shetland. There is also some photos of some of the features with metre and half metre scales.

29/05/2021

Washed this beauty of a quartz scraper. Looks complete, first one that's been found at the site in this condition. It is very similar to flint scrapers found where it is available.

29/05/2021

28/05/2021

27/05/2021

There has also been several stone artefacts found. Such as hammer stones, a slate knife, worked soapstone, and a quartz scraper.
The second photo is a hand tool suggested to be Neolithic and isn't from "native" stone to the local geology.
Soapstone is also not from the island so has either been traded or been brought in, fetlar is the closest location to have Soapstone.
As there isn't any flint in Shetland the Prehistoric Person would have adapted and used quartz instead, its similar to flint but it fractures in a completely different way.

27/05/2021

Here is some of the washed Pottery shards I have found through the years of working at the Auld Village.
Several of them are decorated, burnished (polished) and a couple also has holes, either by repair or possibly being used as a lamp.
One of the shards is very similar to one found during the excavations at Jarlshof.

27/05/2021

Here is a Google Earth Aerial map of the Auld Village site. You can see the earthworks and field boundaries on this photo.
I have a 1947 aerial photo I shall find and post to give a good comparison in the changes in the land in roughly 60/70 years since the RAF picture was taken.