West Voe, Shetland-

View Photo Gallery of West Voe, Shetland >

In June 2004, Nicky went up to Shetland to visit the recently discovered shell midden being excavated by Dr Nigel Melton and Dr Rebecca Nicholson. A previous preliminary evaluation of an oyster midden which was exposed by coastal erosion has provided the first direct evidence for Mesolithic human activity in the Northern Isles of Scotland. An overlying midden, composed of cockles, has also yielded an early date and may be associated with a structure. Some cockles and oysters have been sampled from the midden in order to ascertain seasonality of gathering practices here. Molluscan analysis will be carried out using incremental growth techniques and isotopes, in collaboration with Melanie Leng, NERC isotope Geosciences Laboratory. Results will be published in 2005.

Link: http://antiquity.ac.uk/ProjGall/nicholson/