The Broch of West Burrafirth is an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

broch A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification "complex Atlantic roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. Their origin is a matter of some controversy. Origin ...

located on the west side of

Mainland, Shetland The Mainland is the main island of Shetland, Scotland. The island contains Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick, and is the centre of Shetland's ferry and air connections. Geography It has an area of , making it the third-largest Scottish island a ...

().

Location

The broch stands on a low rocky islet (the "Holm of Hebrista") in

West Burra Firth West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

. The site is inaccessible without a boat except at very low tide. There was once a causeway from the islet to the shore, which is no longer readily apparent.

Description

The broch is in a ruined state with much fallen debris. The entrance is blocked with stones but the lintel over the inner end is still apparent. There appear to be two guard cells on either side of the entrance passage. Internally four mural cells can be seen, two of which are dumb-bell shaped with short passages between the two halves. The site is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

Later history

The '' Orkneyinga saga'' states of

Magnus Erlendsson Saint Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney, sometimes known as Magnus the Martyr, was Earl of Orkney from 1106 to about 1115. Magnus's grandparents, Earl Thorfinn and his wife Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, had two sons, Erlend and Paul, who were twin ...

and Hákon Paulsson: :"Magnus and Hákon ruled their lands and defended them for some time, the two agreeing very well... They also slew a famous man, named Þorbjörn in Borgarfjörð in Hjaltland."Joseph Anderson, (1873)
''The Orkneyinga saga''
Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Chapter 35 (page 60) Borgarfjörð, the "

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

of the borg" was so named by the Norse on account of the broch. It is probable that the reason of Þorbjörn's connection with Borgarfjörð/Burra Firth was its affording him, and his followers a shelter, and a defensive position in the ''borg'', or broch. The old name Borgarfjörð occurs in a document in the

Norse language Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

dated 1299. The broch was visited by George Low in the 18th century, when he noted a number of cells in the base of the wall, and he stated that a hollow, galleried wall began above these.

References

{{Prehistoric Shetland Uninhabited islands of Shetland

West Burrafirth West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Shetland