History / Time Team to lead excavations at possible Viking boat burial site
EXCAVATIONS to investigate a possible Viking-era boat burial in Shetland are set to take place this summer – with the work set to be filmed for Time Team.
Shetland’s regional archaeologist Dr Val Turner became aware of the site during an assessment for a housing planning proposal back in early 2023.
Her investigations identified a 22.5-metre prominent and seemingly undisturbed mound on private land, with characteristic features associated with a potential Viking-era boat burial.
Viking boat burials are said to be extremely rare and are usually associated with high-status individuals.
A press release for the development said a discovery of a boat burial could “significantly contribute to our understanding of the arrival and settlement of these seafaring Nordic invaders over a millennia ago”.
The exact location of the site has not been made public yet.
Upon discovering the nature of the site in early 2023, the landowners contacted Time Team – the archaeological TV programme which now broadcasts online – to see if they would be able to lead in an investigation of the mound feature.
The excavation has been granted scheduled monument consent by Historic Environment Scotland (HES).
Dr Turner said: “On seeing the site, I blurted out to my colleague, ‘but that’s a Viking boat burial!”
“It’s going to be nerve wracking, but an exciting few days until we find out if I was correct, thanks to the Time Team coming on board.”
Two surveys were conducted by Dr Nick Hannon, from HES, and Time Team’s Dr John Gater in September 2023 and September 2024.
It is said the results of the surveys have proved “very exciting”.
Gater said that “when you walk over the earthworks and study the immediate surrounding landscape you sense the site could be very special”.
Time Team has been working with Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology (ORCA) to put a project design together, with feedback from HES as the relevant regulatory body.
The team hopes that this will prove or disprove the theory that the mound really does contain a Viking boat.
ORCA senior project manager Paul Clark said: “All of us at ORCA are excited to explore such an important site, especially with the added benefit of working alongside Time Team and sharing the story with a wide audience.
“Some of the excavation team have spent years living and working in Shetland and we’re very much looking forward to learning about this site and helping to inform its long-term conservation.”
The crew will also be conducting a wider survey and evaluation of the area around the mound, bringing into focus other identified archaeological features which may contribute to the story.
The site will also be secured through an extensive metal detecting and recording survey.
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