The Chapel and Burial Ground on St Ninian's Isle, Shetland: Excavations Past and Present: v. 32

Excavations Past and Present

Rachel C. Barrowman

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781351192217
• Topic: Scienze sociali
• Subtopic: Archeologia

"This volume is the definitive account of the excavation which led to the discovery of the magnificent hoard of 28 pieces of Pictish silverware on St Ninian's Isle, Shetland in 1958. It includes a reassessment of the original archives and finds, including an ogham stone found on the site in 1876 and a fantastic collection of glass beads, as well as several new small-scale excavations on the site of the chapel and its burial ground. Taken together, this work reveals a long sequence of settlement beginning in the Iron Age. The first church was built on the site in the 8th century, and accompanied by a long cist cemetery with cross-incised stones and shrine sculpture. The church may have continued in use into the 9th or 10th centuries, and the recent work has confirmed that the famous hoard was buried into its floor. There was a degree of continuity between the pre-Christian and Christian burials, with evidence that the site was a special place for burial before the advent of Christianity. The report describes these burials in detail, ending the story sometime between the 11th and end of the 12th centuries, when an adult male who had died a violent death was moved to be buried on the site. Thereafter the site was inundated with wind-blown sand. A new chapel with an accompanying long cist cemetery was then built above the earlier church, and a chancel was added later. The associated graveyard continued in use until around 1840, long after the building was demolished."

APPENDIX 1
Finds in the Shetland Museum from O'Dell's excavations in 1958–59

Box: A21.2000. St Ninian's Isle Items 797 and 798

* = illustrated, EIA = Early Iron Age, LIA = Later Iron Age

APPENDIX 2
Features excavated in 1958 and 1959

Features excavated in 1958 and 1959 with the corresponding finds labels and find from the Shetland Museum (Small) Collection

APPENDIX 3
Coarse pottery held in the Shetland Museum

Coarse pottery held in the Shetland Museum (Small) collection (A19.1998 and A21.2000).

• Fabric 1: sandy clay;
• Fabric 2: fine sandy clay;
• Fabric 3: fine clay;
• Fabric 4: steatitic clay;
• Fabric 5: sandy steatitic clay.

Int: interior; ext: exterior. Surface finish: S (smoothed), B (burnished).

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures
• Summaries
• Acknowledgements
• Appendix 1. Finds in the Shetland Museum from O'Dell's excavations in 1958-59
• Appendix 2. Features excavated in 1958 and 1959 with the corresponding finds labels and find from the Small Collection, Shetland Museum
• Appendix 3. CoarsepotteryheldintheShetlandMuseum (Small collection). A19.1998 and A21.2000
• Appendix 4. St Ninians Isle, Shetland 1999-2000. Context descriptions
• Appendix 5. Finds from the 1999—2000 excavations by phase, context and small find number
• Appendix 6. Catalogue of quartz collected from the 1999-2000 excavations
• Appendix 7. Catalogue of coarse pottery from the 1999—2000 excavations by phase, context and small find number
• Appendix 8. The TIC chromatogram of SF 329
• Appendix 9. Element and quantification codes used in fish bone identification
• Abbreviations
• Bibliography
• Index