Anthrosols in Iron Age Shetland.
Guttmann, E.B. Simpson, I.A. Nielsen, N.
Guttmann, E.B.
Simpson, I.A.
Nielsen, N.
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2008
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Abstract
The soils surrounding three Iron Age settlements on South Mainland, Shetland, were sampled
and compared for indicators of soil amendment. Two of the sites (Old Scatness and Jarlshof)
were on lower-lying, better-drained, sheltered land; the third (Clevigarth) was in an acid,
exposed environment at a higher elevation. The hypothesis, based on previous regional assessments,
soil thicknesses, and excavations at Old Scatness, was that the lowland sites would have
heavily fertilized soils and that the thin upland soil would show little if any amendment.
Our findings indicate that the Middle Iron Age soils at Old Scatness had extremely high phosphorus
levels, while the soil at Jarlshof had lower levels of enhancement. At Clevigarth, where
charcoal from the buried soil was 14C dated to the Neolithic and Bronze Age, there was no
evidence of arable activity or soil amendment associated with the Iron Age phases of settlement.
These observations indicate that not all sites put the same amount of effort into creating
rich arable soils. The three sites had very different agricultural capacities, which suggests
the emergence of local trade in agricultural commodities in Iron Age Shetland.
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Guttmann, E. B., Simpson, I. A., Nielsen, N. and Dockrill, S. J. (2008). Anthrosols in Iron Age Shetland: Implications for arable and economic activity. Geoarchaeology, Vol. 23, No. 6, pp. 799¿823.
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