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 Head To Head The Modern Antiquarian The Shetland Isles Forum | Start a topic | Search |
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| Didn't see the program but just back from Shetland where we visited Old Scatness, several of the other brochs and a whole lot else. More to follow. BTW, Old Scatness, according to the guide, is not just the oldest known broch but the best built. The development of brochs and beyond is still a hotly-debated topic. To my simple mind, I always favoured the following proposition. To begin with there were roundhouses (eg Quanterness and Bu in Orkney). Then there were more elaborate roundhouses, low but with internal staircases (eg Howe in Orkney). These then evolved into brochs. However the dating of Old Scatness suggests that, around 300bce, brochs and roundhouses (simple and elaborate) may have co-existed, the choice depending on your status or wealth. Then there were wheelhouses and aisled roundhouses (similar except the wheel spoke in the latter starts from a point away from the wall and is joined to the wall by a lintel). The wheelhouses and aisled roundhouses at Jarlshof are built into the ruins of the broch. From what I recall of the Old Scatness commentary, the wheelhouses were several centuries later than the broch. Reply | with quote |  15th August 2005ce 13:23 In reply to: TV last night (FourWinds) |
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