The remains at Jarlshof represent thousands of years of human occupation and can be seen as a microcosm of Shetland history. Other than the Old House of Sumburgh (see below), the site remained largely hidden until a storm in the late 19th century washed away part of the shore, and revealed evidence of these ancient buildings. Formal archaeological excavation started in 1925, and
Bronze Age relics were soon discovered. Jarlshof was one of first two broch sites to be excavated using modern scientific techniques between 1949 and 1952. Buildings on the site include the remains of a Bronze Age
smithy, an
Iron Age broch, an
roundhouses, a complex of
Pictish wheelhouses, a
Viking longhouse and a
mediaeval farmhouse. No further excavations have been undertaken since the early 1950s, and no radiocarbon dating has been attempted.
Bronze Age The Bronze Age in Scotland lasted from approximately 2000 BC to 800 BC. The oldest known remains on the Jarlshof site date from this period, although there is evidence of inhabitation as far back as 2500 BC. The remains of several small oval houses with thick stone walls date to the late Bronze Age and the structures show some similarity to
Skara Brae on
Mainland, Orkney but are smaller and of a later date. These buildings may have been partly subterranean at the earliest period of inhabitation, a technique providing both structural stability and insulation. There is also evidence of a cattle stall with a waste channel leading to a tank in a courtyard and a whale vertebra set into a wall that may have been used as a tethering post. Broken moulds from the smithy indicate that axes, knives, swords and pins were produced there, and a bronze dagger was found at the site. The objects indicate the smith was trained in the Irish style of working. Bone pins and awls also survived, and an extraordinary bone "plaque" was discovered. This latter object is long, has three holes bored into the ends and is decorated with various linear patterns. Its function is unknown. The Bronze Age structures are overlain with sterile sand, suggesting a break in occupation prior to the next phase of building.
Iron Age and Pictish period at Jarlshof The inhabitants of the
Iron Age built part of their settlement on top of the Bronze Age one. It is in this period that the
broch was built. Part of the structure has been lost to coastal erosion, and modern sea defences have been erected. The tower was probably originally 13 metres (40 feet) or more high. Like many other broch sites, the position would have commanded fine views of the surrounding seas. Other archaeological sites of the period discovered in Shetland usually exhibit defensive fortifications of some kind, and Jarlshof is no exception. An outer defensive wall associated with the broch contained a substantial (although rather poorly constructed) house and byre at one time. This wall was utilised at a later stage to build a large roundhouse in the lee of the broch. The earliest part of the wheelhouse complex has been dated to 200 BC, although other parts were built later, post-dating the 1st century BC–2nd century AD profusion of these structures in the
Western Isles by several centuries. Construction used the stones of the broch itself. Two of the four main structures are amongst the best examples of their type. Three successive periods of construction were undertaken. The best preserved structure retains a significant proportion of the stone part of its roof and displays a series of corbelled bays. Another one was built as a circular building and the radial piers were inserted afterwards. This may have been a less stable earlier design. In one case the piers are alternately rectangular and V-shaped, in another all are to the latter design, again suggesting a developing style. Unlike many wheelhouses elsewhere in Scotland that are built into the earth, the Jarlshof structures seem to have been built from ground level upwards. Amongst the artefacts dated to the later Pictish period is a bone pin with a rounded head probably used as a hair or dress pin. It has been dated to AD 500–800. "
Painted pebbles" are associated with more than two dozen Pictish sites, and one such stone was unearthed at Jarlshof. This rectangular slate fragment had a cross painted onto it and two small S-shaped scrolls suggesting an association with Christian beliefs. One of only two Pictish symbol stones found in Shetland was found here, exhibiting a
double disc shape and a
Z-rod. Pottery finds include
buff ware from the period after AD 10, including bowls with flat rims. The quality of the pots appears to decline in the period prior to Viking settlement, becoming thinner-walled and generally more crude in design. In AD 43 and 77 the Roman authors
Pomponius Mela and
Pliny the Elder referred to the seven islands they call
Haemodae and
Acmodae respectively, both of which are assumed to be Shetland. Another early written reference to the Shetland islands may have been when
Tacitus reported that the Roman fleet had seen "Thule" on a voyage that included the
Orkney archipelago in AD 98. Watson in 1926 stated that Tacitus was referring to southern Shetland, probably the area of the brochs in Jarlshof.
Norse period Remains from this era used to cover most of the site, and it is believed the
Norse inhabited the site continuously from the ninth to the 14th centuries. Excavations in the 1930s by Alex Curle found the first confirmed Norse
longhouse in the British Isles and later digs in the 1950s found evidence of fishing and farming activities. Sheep, cattle, pigs and ponies were kept,
Atlantic cod,
saithe and
ling were eaten, and whale and seal bones have also been found along with the remains of a single dog. Chicken bones are rare in the Norse levels. , Newfoundland, Canada similar in scale to Jarlshof. There are seven Norse-era houses at Jarlshof, although no more than two were in use at one time. There were several outbuildings, including a small square structure with a large hearth that may have been a
sauna and which was later replaced by two separate outhouses. Another outbuilding has been interpreted as a corn-drying room. Later houses were built at 90 degrees to the longhouse and these are of a type and size that is similar to
croft houses that were common in Shetland until the mid-19th century. One hundred and fifty loom weights were found suggesting
wool was an important aspect of Norse-era life. Line weights from the later Norse period and associated evidence from elsewhere in Shetland indicates that deep-water fishing was also a regular undertaking. The Jarlshof site also produced ample evidence of the use of iron tools such as shears, scissors, sickles, and a fish-hook and knife. The ore was locally obtained
bog iron. Hazel, birch and willow grew in the area at this time but the pine and oak must have been driftwood or imported timber. Similarly, although the rectangular shape of the Norse-era buildings are quite unlike the earlier rounded Pictish style, the basement courses of the two periods are constructed in the same way. The Viking-style loom weights, spindle whorls and other vessels were found with stone discs and other objects of a Pictish design. A
bronze–
gilt harness mounting made in Ireland in the 8th or 9th centuries has also been found and many items from this period are in the
Shetland Museum. The structure was also known as "The laird's house" and "Stewart Mansion". ==Cultural references==