Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC4176 Weinnia Ness, Shetland

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Shetland Amenity Trust 4715 (None)

NMR:  HU 15 SE 10 (231)

SM:  None

NGR:  HU 1719 5334

X:  417197  Y:  1153340  (OSGB36)

Summary

The remains of a series of earth and stone dykes have been noted cutting across the neck of Weinnia Ness, a spectacular promontory on the W coast of Mainland. Photographed by Raymond Lamb in 1970, it is probably significant that he chose to omit the site from his synthesis of the promontory forts of the Northern Isles (1980), indicating that he believed that the various banks visible cutting across the narrow neck were not of any great antiquity. The photographs appended to the SCAPE record (https://scapetrust.org/; also accessible via RCAHMS Canmore), combined with satellite imagery, confirm this assessment, showing in one case an eroded section through a turf dyke. At 1.3ha, the enclosure would be unusual amongst promontory forts in the Northern Isles, and this should probably be omitted unless proven to be of antiquity by excavation.

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Unconfirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Unconfirmed

Location

X:  -188239  Y:  8458763  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -1.690976196159292  Latitude:  60.26405654797196  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Shetland Islands

Historic County:  Shetland

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Walls And Sandness

Monument Condition

None

Condition:
Extant  
Cropmark  
Likely Destroyed  

Land Use

None

Current Use:
Woodland  
Commercial Forestry Plantation  
Parkland  
Pasture (Grazing)  
Arable  
Scrub/Bracken  
Bare Outcrop  
Heather/Moorland  
Heath  
Built-up  
Coastal Grassland  
Other  

Landscape

Hillfort Type

None

Type:
Contour Fort  
Partial Contour Fort  
Promontory Fort  
Hillslope Fort  
Level Terrain Fort  
Marsh Fort  
Multiple Enclosure Fort  

Topographic Position

Position:
Hilltop  
Coastal Promontory  
Inland Promontory  
Valley Bottom  
Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop  
Ridge  
Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp  
Hillslope  
Lowland  
Spur  

Dominant Topographic Feature:  None

Aspect:
North  
Northeast  
East  
Southeast  
South  
Southwest  
West  
Northwest  
Level  

Altitude:  75.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

In the absence of excavation, the character of the supposed defences is unknown, but they appear more likely to be post-medieval stock banks

Reliability:  D - None

Principal Activity:
Pre 1200BC  
1200BC - 800BC  
800BC - 400BC  
400BC - AD50  
AD50 - AD400  
AD400 - AD 800  
Post AD800  
Unknown  

Other Activity:
Pre Hillfort:   None
Post Hillfort:   None

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

None

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1970):   Photographed by Raymond Lamb (Held by RCAHMS)
Other (1996):   Record W117 Report on a Coastal Zone Assessment Survey of Westside, Shetland, 1996
Other (2008):   Description (SCAPE record, including photographs)

Interior Features

Featureless

Water Source

None

Source:
None  
Spring  
Stream  
Pool  
Flush  
Well  
Other  

Surface

None

Interior Features (Surface):
No Known Features  
Round Stone Structures  
Rectangular Stone Structures  
Curvilinear Platforms  
Other Roundhouse Evidence  
Pits  
Quarry Hollows  
Other  

Excavation

None

Interior Features (Excavation):
No Known Excavation  
Pits  
Postholes  
Roundhouses  
Rectangular Structures  
Roads/Tracks  
Quarry Hollows  
Other  
Nothing Found  

Geophysics

None

Interior Features (Geophysics):
No Known Geophysics  
Pits  
Roundhouses  
Rectangular Structures  
Roads/Tracks  
Quarry Hollows  
Other  
Nothing Found  

Finds

None

Interior (Finds):
No Known Finds  
Pottery  
Metal  
Metalworking  
Human Bones  
Animal Bones  
Lithics  
Environmental  
Other  

Aerial

NO APPARENT FEATURES

Interior Features (Aerial):
APs Not Checked  
None  
Roundhouses  
Rectangular Structures  
Pits  
Postholes  
Roads/Tracks  
Other  

Entrances

Not a promontory fort, though access can only have been across the neck on the E

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
0:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   Access can only have been from the E

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

A series of minor earthen banks cutting across the neck of a large promontory

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   Noneha.
Total:   Noneha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   There are no defences

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   0
SE Quadrant:   0
SW Quadrant:   0
NW Quadrant:   0
Total:   0

Morphology

Current Morphology:
Partial Univallate  
Univallate  
Partial Bivallate  
Bivallate  
Partial Multivallate  
Multivallate  
Unknown  

Detailed Morphology:
Partial Univallate  
Univallate  
Partial Bivallate  
Bivallate  
Partial Multivallate  
Multivallate  

Surface Evidence

Minor banks

Enclosing Works (Surface):
None  
Earthen Bank  
Stone Wall  
Rubble  
Wall-walk  
Evidence of Timber  
Vitrification  
Other Burning  
Palisade  
Counter Scarp Bank  
Berm  
Unfinished  
Other  

Excavated Evidence

None

Enclosing Works (Excavation):
None  
Earthen Bank  
Stone Wall  
Murus Duplex  
Timber-framed  
Timber-laced  
Vitrification  
Other Burning  
Palisade  
Counter Scarp Bank  
Berm  
Unfinished  
No Known Excavation  
Other  

Other

Gang Working:
✗   None

Ditches:
✗   None

Number of Ditches:  None

Annex:
✗   None

References

https://scapetrust.org



Terms of Use

This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and should be cited as:

Lock, Gary and Ralston, Ian. 2024. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk


Document Version 1.1