Ness of Burgi

Property in Care (PIC) ID: PIC245 Designations: Scheduled Monument (SM90226) Taken into State care: 1935 (Guardianship) Last reviewed: 2015 HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE NESS OF BURGI We continually revise our Statements of Significance, so they may vary in length, format and level of detail. While every effort is made to keep them up to date, they should not be considered a definitive or final assessment of our properties. Historic Environment Scotland – Scottish Charity No. SC045925 Principal Office: Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh EH9 1SH NESS OF BURGI SYNOPSIS Ness of Burgi is a prehistoric monument perched precariously on a headland projecting from the south end of the Scat Ness peninsula, at the southern end of the Shetland Islands, and located directly across the West Voe of Sumburgh from Jarlshof. The property comprises the remains of a fort of Iron-Age date, consisting of a rampart of earth and stone sandwiched between two ditches, behind which, and at a higher level, looms a freestanding rectangular drystone ‘blockhouse’ – a type of monument unique (so far) to Shetland. On the basis of architectural parallels excavated elsewhere (eg Clickhimin Broch), blockhouses are thought to have been built contemporaneously with brochs, between c. 200 BC to AD 200. The monument came into State care in 1935 and was partially excavated shortly afterwards. CHARACTER OF THE MONUMENT Historical Overview: • c. 200 BC / AD 200 – the fort, including its blockhouse, is probably built, but by whom is a mystery. • 1935 - the property is taken into State care. Shortly afterwards an archaeological excavation is carried out under the direction of Miss C L Mowbray. Some repair/restoration work seems then to be carried out by the Office of Works. • 1953-7 – John Hamilton, Inspector of Ancient Monuments, directs excavations at Clickhimin, including its ‘blockhouse’. He coins the term ‘blockhouse fort’ to describe such sites and postulates that they may have been built as beachheads by a force invading the Shetland Islands from the south. • 1970s - loose stonework lying about the site, probably a legacy of the excavation and repair works carried out in the 1930s, is formed into a neat rectangular mound in the outer enclosure. • 1983 – a ruined fort at Scatness, 500m north of Ness of Burgi, is excavated, revealing the southern half of another blockhouse, similar to, but smaller than, that at Ness of Burgi, and also protected by an outer rampart (Carter et al). Archaeological Overview The promontory fort is defined on the landward (north) side by two rock-cut ditches on either side of a broad rampart spanning the neck of the headland. The rampart is built of earth and stone and appears to have been revetted on both sides by drystone wall faces. The entrance through the rampart and ditches is central. This aligns with the entrance through a large rectangular drystone structure – known as a ‘blockhouse - that looms up behind the inner ditch. (The blockhouse is described in more detail under Architectural/Artistic Overview.) The site has been twice excavated. In 1936, soon after the monument passed into State care, Cecily Mowbray examined the blockhouse itself but found little in the way of archaeological material to help date the structure, other than a few scraps of pottery, subsequently donated to Lerwick Museum. In 1983 Peter Strong carried out a small excavation on the outer rampart, at its northern end where it was being affected by coastal erosion. Unfortunately no material for scientific dating was found. Despite the dearth of archaeological evidence to date, the site still has potential to establish more about the nature and development of this rare form of Iron Age fort. Ness of Burgi is only 500m from the blockhouse at Scatness, and the intervening ground may be considered an archaeological landscape. [Note: the neat pile of stones beyond the ditch is most probably a legacy from Miss Mowbray’s work, the tumble of stones created being tidied up by the MOPBW in the 1970s. There is something to be said for removing it, as it does mislead visitors into thinking it to be an integral part of the monument, but if this is done it must be under archaeological watching brief as it may contain valuable information.] Architectural/Artistic Overview: The blockhouse The blockhouse is the only structure surviving that has evidence of an architectural form. It stands to a height of c.1.2m, though given that two of the other known blockhouses (at Clickhimin and Loch of Huxter) are two- storeyed, its original height may have been as much as 9m. The central entrance passage retains evidence for a door, in the form of two bar-holes, and several of its flat ceiling slabs. The structure contains two cells and the remains of a third. One is entered from the passage, the second from the interior of the fort, and the third, located at the back of the first seemingly from above. The blockhouse was subsequently repaired and altered, suggesting a lengthy occupation and use. The blockhouse is exceptional in that there are only three others known, and a fourth yet to be tested by excavation. All are in Shetland – at Clickhimin Broch, Loch of Huxter (Whalsay) and Scatness (this last just 500m north of Ness of Burgi), and the possible one at Burgi Geos (Yell). Of the four known blockhouses, Ness of Burgi is the largest. It and Scatness are almost identical in plan. Both are also promontory forts defended by banks and ditches, whereas those at Clickhimin and Loch of Huxter are island sites associated with a stone-walled enclosure, houses and a broch. What significance this had, if any, remains to be discovered. The term ‘blockhouse-fort’ was coined by John Hamilton, who excavated Clickhimin’s blockhouse in the 1950s, to describe a structure he saw as a fortified gatehouse of a fort occupied by an invading force creating a beachhead in southern Shetland. More recently this defensive role has been questioned, chiefly because the blockhouses, being free-standing and capable of being by-passed, are not that defensible. Hingley postulated that blockhouses might have been used as platforms in ‘ritualized warfare or display’, such as Iron-Age society seems to have indulged in, presenting ‘an image to the outside world of social isolation and/or power’. In short, were they possibly symbolic gateways? What is clear is that the blockhouse at Ness of Burgi, and the three other known examples, represent a unique type of later prehistoric drystone architecture in Europe. [Note: the neat rectangular pile of stones to the north of the monument is not an Iron-Age structure but the result of stone clearance and consolidation in the 1970s.] Social Overview: Other than a minor heritage attraction in the vicinity of Jarlshof and Old Scatness, Ness of Burgi plays little social role. The monument is remote from modern settlement and difficult to access. It is reached by a track that crosses a very precarious natural rock causeway, aptly named ‘The Slithers’. As a consequence, the site is not signposted and access will generally be limited to those comfortable with some difficult walking conditions. Spiritual Overview: It is possible that the blockhouse was not primarily built as a defensive gatehouse into the fort, because, being free-standing, it seems not to be strictly defensible. Hingley states that it is possible that much of the warfare within these Iron Age societies was ritualized, and postulates that blockhouses may have been built as platforms for ‘ritualized warfare or display’, as well as presenting ‘an image of social isolation and/or power’. Carter et al write of the blockhouse entrance representing something akin to a ‘rite of passage’ for young warriors. All very hypothetical but worthy of consideration if, and when more examples are discovered. Aesthetic Overview Ness of Burgi is situated in a typical Shetland landscape, with close-grazed rough pasture all around and the sea an ever-present backdrop. The somewhat arduous walk to the site is heightened in intensity if, on a good day, the visitor makes out the island of Fair Isle on the distant southern horizon. This reinforces the sense that the sea played a pivotal part in the lives of those who constructed and used Ness of Burgi. The blockhouse is situated on a low rise behind the outer, and low-lying, rampart, and forms a distinctive profile against the sky. What are the major gaps in understanding of the property? • When was the blockhouse-fort built, by whom and for what purpose? Although there has been archaeological excavation at the site, there will yet remain deposits that could well shed light on the history of this extraordinary, and rare, site. As to what use the blockhouse itself was put, that riddle may never be solved. • What was the full extent of Miss Mowbray’s excavations, and of the ‘tidying up’ of the site that followed? There may yet be papers giving further details, including in the Shetland Archives and MOPBW/PSA/SDD ‘Foremen’s Reports’ charting annual works carried out at the site. ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Key Points • Ness of Burgi is a very rare example of a type of monument archaeologists call a ‘blockhouse fort’. • The blockhouse at Ness of Burgi is one of only four known to exist. All four are in Shetland. • The function of blockhouses is imperfectly understood. Whilst they appear superficially to have been constructed with defence in mind, they are inherently weak for such a purpose and other possibilities have been postulated, including as platforms for use in ‘ritualized warfare’. • Ness of Burgi’s blockhouse is the largest of the four known.

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