The Ness of Burgi fort is an iron-age
promontory fort in the
Old Scatness archaeological site on the
Ness of Burgi, a narrow finger of land reaching south from the
Scat Ness in the far south of the island of
Mainland, Shetland in Scotland.
Location
The fort is about south from the village of
Scatness, in the parish of
Dunrossness
Dunrossness, (Old Norse: ''Dynrastarnes'' meaning "headland of the loud tide-race", referring to the noise of Sumburgh Roost) is the southernmost parish of Shetland, Scotland. Historically the name Dunrossness has usually referred to the area o ...
, and may be reached by foot along a grass path that leads to the headland of the Ness of Burgi. The fort is on a rocky promontory on the east side of the Ness and is open to the public at all times.
Structure
The blockhouse, probably built about 100 BC
seems to be excessively large for the area that it protects, and so was perhaps more designed to impress rather than to defend.
The blockhouse structure seems to have been built as an integral part of the defensive wall.
The walls do not reach the edges of the cliffs on either side.
There is no evidence that they once reached further and since have been shortened through natural or human activity.
The ends are properly finished. It seems that the gaps were deliberate, and defense was not a primary concern.
In fact, there are other points on the promontory that provide equally good natural defensive positions.
There may be some similarity in this incomplete defensive wall with the forework of the
Broch of Clickimin
The Broch of Clickimin (also Clickimin or Clickhimin Broch) is a large, well-preserved but restored broch in Lerwick in Shetland, Scotland (). Originally built on an island in Clickimin Loch, it was approached by a stone causeway. The broch is s ...
, the
Huxter Fort
Huxter Fort is an Iron Age fortification on the island of Whalsay, in the Shetland islands of Scotland, dating to around 300 BC. It is on an islet in the Loch of Huxter, connected to the shore by a causeway.
Origins
The fort was probably b ...
and the
Crosskirk Broch
Crosskirk Broch was a fortification near the present day hamlet of Crosskirk near Thurso, Caithness, Scotland. After thorough archaeological exploration it was destroyed in 1972 since the site had become unsafe due to sea erosion. The site was ...
.
These works may be seen as prototypes that evolved into the
brochs that were later built in the islands and the Scottish and Irish mainlands.
Gallery
File:Ness of Burgi 20080821 - south chamber.jpg, South chamber (from the east)
File:Ness of Burgi 20080821 - entrance of north chamber from the north.jpg, Entrance to the north chamber from inside the chamber looking to the south
File:Ness of Burgi 20080821 - north chamber from south.jpg, North chamber from the south and above
File:Ness of Burgi 20080821 - entrance from the west.jpg, Entrance from the west into the passage
File:Ness of Burgi 20080821 - eastern entrances.jpg, Entrances viewed from the east
Notes and references
Citations
Sources
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{{Prehistoric Shetland
Promontory forts in Scotland
Archaeological sites in Shetland
Historic Scotland properties in Shetland
Scheduled monuments in Scotland
Mainland, Shetland