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Vikings, peat formation and settlement abandonment: multi-method chronological approach from Shetland
Swindles, G.T. Outram, Z. Batt, Catherine M. Hamilton, W.D. Church, M.J. Watson, E.J. Cook, G.T. Sim, T.G. Newton, A.J.
Swindles, G.T.
Outram, Z.
Batt, Catherine M.
Hamilton, W.D.
Church, M.J.
Watson, E.J.
Cook, G.T.
Sim, T.G.
Newton, A.J.
Publication Date
15/04/2019
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© 2019 Elsevier. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
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Yes
Open Access status
openAccess
Accepted for publication
22/02/2019
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Abstract
Understanding the chronology of Norse settlement is crucial for deciphering the archaeology of
many sites across the North Atlantic region and developing a timeline of human-environment
interactions. There is ambiguity in the chronology of settlements in areas such as the Northern Isles
of Scotland, arising from the lack of published sites that have been scientifically dated, the presence
of plateaus in the radiocarbon calibration curve, and the use of inappropriate samples for dating.
This novel study uses four absolute dating techniques (AMS radiocarbon, tephrochronology,
spheroidal carbonaceous particles and archaeomagnetism) to date a Norse house (the “Upper
House”), Underhoull, Unst, Shetland Isles and to interpret the chronology of settlement and peat
which envelops the site. Dates were produced from hearths, activity surfaces within the structure,
and peat accumulations adjacent to and above the structure. Stratigraphic evidence was used to
assess sequences of dates within a Bayesian framework, constraining the chronology for the site as
well as providing modelled estimates for key events in its life, namely the use, modification and
abandonment of the settlement. The majority of the absolute dating methods produced consistent
and coherent datasets. The overall results show that occupation at the site was not a short, single
phase, as suggested initially from the excavated remains, but instead a settlement that continued
throughout the Norse period. The occupants of the site built the longhouse in a location adjacent to
an active peatland, and continued to live there despite the encroachment of peat onto its margins.
We estimate that the Underhoull longhouse was constructed in the period cal. AD 805–1050 (95%
probability), and probably in cal. AD 880–1000 (68% probability). Activity within the house ceased
in the period cal. AD 1230–1495 (95% probability), and most probably in cal. AD 1260–1380 (68%
probability). The Upper House at Underhoull provides important context to the expansion and
abandonment of Norse settlement across the wider North Atlantic region.
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Accepted manuscript
Citation
Swindles GT, Outram Z, Batt CM et al (2019) Vikings, peat formation and settlement abandonment: multi-method chronological approach from Shetland. Quaternary Science Reviews. 210: 211-225.
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Article