Prehistoric houses at Sumburgh in Shetland

Excavations at Sumburgh Airport in the 1960s and 70s discovered stone-built houses of the later Bronze Age and the early Iron Age. This report describes the results of the excavations (stone walls, paved areas, hearths, cubicles) and of the analysis of the stratigraphy and the position of the artefacts. It shows how one house was added to the other, and how both were then substantially modified. Comparison with other sites shows that the two-house unit was a feature of the later Bronze Age in Shetland in contrast to earlier Bronze Age oval houses and later Iron Age circular houses divided by radial piers, and that longevity of occupation was usual with the three house forms suceeding each other as here at Sumburgh.