VIKING UNST PROJECT: FIELD SEASON 2008 - Nabo

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establishment of an integrated absolute chronology for the Unst sites is essential in order toprovide a framework for the other findings from the excavations and interpretations of thesites’ economic development and cultural identity.The analysis of the artefacts recovered will be of enormous importance to the interpretationof the sites excavated over the course of the Viking Unst Project. The expertise of Dr.Colleen Batey will be utilised.1.3.2 The paleoeconomy of Viking and Norse UnstUnderstanding the past economic exploitation of the surrounding landscape, shore and sea(e.g. for arable agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing and other resources such as fuel) isvital to our understanding of the sustainability of these sites. Analysis of the economic datawill provide information regarding the subsistence base of the sites and the reasons for theirsuccess or failure. It was anticipated that most of the known sites in Unst (with theexception of those with a high windblown sand component) are unlikely to have good bonepreservation, though some is possible and this has proved to be the case with Hamar andUnderhoull. A few fragments of bone have been recovered, providing limited informationon food resources and technology (butchery, bone working). Sampling for plant remainswill allow the study of the nature of the arable contribution to the economy and what fuelresources were utilised, as well as providing material for AMS dating.1.3.3 Formation of the archaeological depositsAn integrated research programme examining magnetic signatures, carbonised andfossilised organic components, phosphate and soil micromorphology will enable anunderstanding of fuel exploitation, the identification of surfaces within structures, theformation and management of arable soils and provide evidence for deposits associatedwith ironworking. It was hoped to investigate the nature and extent of any yards or infieldsurrounding the settlement which is important in settling the 'farm or sheiling' question forthe sites in the higher areas. Work on this is ongoing in this area through the PhDs ofRobert Legg, University of Bradford (Muck, farmsteads and landscapes: Geochemical andgeophysical investigations of farmstead and landscape interaction on the isle of Unst,Shetland), and Val Turner, University of Stirling (Inherited landscape: the pre-historic fieldsystems of Shetland).1.3.4 Manufacture, trade and contactEvidence for manufacture, such as copper alloy casting and ironworking, together withimported cultural material, will provide evidence for both production and trade, which inturn provides further insight into the status of the sites and how this might have changedover time.1.3.5 Status and social hierarchies in Viking/Late Norse period Unst.Issues relating to the Viking/late Norse society in Unst will be addressed, and to this endinvestigation of the social status of the settlements will be important.The results of the ‘Penmap’ survey in August 2005 seemed to show that some of theassumed single-structure and single-phase sites, such as Hamar and Lund, may be much14
more complex; geophysics would be an obvious means of exploring this (Bond et al. 2006).It is hoped that the nature and extent of the yards or infields surrounding the settlementscould be looked at in order to settle the ‘farm or shieling’ question for the sites in the higherareas.15
Page 1 and 2: VIKING UNST PROJECTEXCAVATIONS AT H
Page 3 and 4: This is a provisional report on the
Page 5 and 6: PART TWO: PERSONNEL AND RELATED RES
Page 7 and 8: PART ONEEXCAVATIONS AT HAMAR &THE U
Page 9 and 10: A geophysical survey of the site wa
Page 11 and 12: The 2006 & 2007 excavation seasonsT
Page 13: sites are multiperiod settlements s
Page 17 and 18: floor surface included fragments of
Page 19 and 20: Lower room & ash pitWork also concl
Page 21 and 22: Figure 2.2: Plan of the sunken floo
Page 23 and 24: External DepositsA section was exca
Page 25 and 26: along the north edge (open side) of
Page 27 and 28: Figure 2.5: The south east annexe,
Page 29 and 30: At the lower (easternmost) end of t
Page 31 and 32: 3. SUMMARY OF FINDS FROM THE 2008 S
Page 33 and 34: 46mm) with working marks on three s
Page 35 and 36: 3.2.2 A geological assessment of th
Page 37 and 38: minerals are chemically stable in n
Page 39 and 40: the same stone. SF721 (context [117
Page 41 and 42: context [185] is a fine example of
Page 43 and 44: close proximity of steatite outcrop
Page 45 and 46: oom. The three body sherds are fair
Page 47 and 48: Greenland and Iceland that a number
Page 49 and 50: channel changes from U-shaped to V-
Page 51 and 52: 4. ENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCEJ.M. Bond,
Page 53 and 54: The cereals recovered are hulled si
Page 55 and 56: five barley grains and a single oat
Page 57 and 58: 4.3.2 The Upper House, UnderhoullAs
Page 59 and 60: [176]. The identification of microl
Page 61 and 62: iron within the soils (Gaffney & Ga
Page 63 and 64: 63Figure 4.1: The graphical represe
Page 65 and 66:
SitecodeSamplecodeContext SFnumberA
Page 67 and 68:
presence of tephra within the depos
Page 69 and 70:
has been widely criticised as too g
Page 71 and 72:
Outram, Z., Cussans, J.E., Summers,
Page 73 and 74:
Level Two StudentsKirsty BennellJoh
Page 75 and 76:
8. BIBLIOGRAPHYAlsvik, H. and Batey
Page 77 and 78:
Davidson, D.A. and Simpson, I.A. 20
Page 79 and 80:
McDonnell, J.G. 2000. Pyrotechnolog
Page 81 and 82:
700s-800s: a potential alternative
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VIKING UNST PROJECT: FIELD SEASON 2008 - Nabo

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