Excavations at Old Scatness, Shetland (Volume 3): The Post-medieval Township

Old Scatness, Shetland, is perhaps still the most complex archaeological project ever to have been undertaken in Scotland. Prior to excavation it comprised a pristine time capsule with exceptional levels of preservation: a Broch surrounded by an Iron Age Village standing to at least floor level. The site was excavated using cutting edge scientific techniques with radical results.

This volume, the third in the series, presents the most recent phases of archaeology, combined with the historical evidence, and covers the period from about AD1400 onwards. Modern archaeological standards and the integrated dating programme, including archaeomagnetic dating with OSL, were applied as rigorously to the later remains as they were to the earlier deposits. In addition, Brian Smith has written engagingly about the township and Nigel Melton, drawing on his PhD research, has explored the economy and trade of southern Shetland from the 16th century onwards. The historical and archaeological results combine to give an illuminating picture of the fluctuating fortunes of a Shetland township as its occupants adapted to varying social, commercial and climatic conditions over several centuries.