A Nordic Odyssey to Hjaltland: On the track of Norse fishermen?
On the track of the first sedentary Vikings in Great Britain were DEGUWA members Frank Lappe and Daniel Zwick as part of a NAS-Scotland team.
Author: Daniel Zwick M.A.
In August 2006 a NAS-Scotland team under the supervision of its new head Peter Pritchard carried out an underwater archaeological survey on the Shetland Islands (Old Norse: Hjaltland), ably assisted by Clive Richardson, who is native to this island. Equipped for a tantalising journey into the past of this legendary island and – of course – with diving gear, the crew members Jessica Berry, Jill Hooper, Frank Lappe, Robert Mowat and myself travelled to the islands amidst the roaring waters of the North Atlantic. Our target was the remains of a tidal fish trap at Uyeasound, in a sheltered bay on Unst. It consists of a crescent shaped structure of mixed rubble with a gap in the middle, which encloses an extensive oval-shaped portion of the beach. It was assumed that it might be of Norse origin, as it falls into a rich regional context.
The Shetland Isles are rich in Norse heritage, which is well reflected in numerous well preserved sites like Jarlshof, a stunning place with an unearthed Norse hamlet, which was built upon a site that was inhabited continuously since the Bronze Age. Norse heritage is also well reflected in place-names like Thingvellir (Old Norse for 'parliament plains') and in sagas and folklore. On Unst alone, over 30 Norse longhouses were excavated. From up the 8th century many regions of the British Isles were infested by pillaging hordes of Norsemen. It was different on Unst, for it was arguably the first part of the British Isles which was colonised lastingly by Norse settlers in the 9th century. Hence it is a region of considerable archaeological interest. It is currently investigated by the 'Viking Unst' initiative of the Shetland Amenity Trust in cooperation with the University of Copenhagen.
The role of the NAS team at the northern outpost of the British Isles
The same location: ca. 1000 years ago
Come chiefs who desire to be subject to thee:
No king so well known for his will, and his might
To defend his own people from scaith or unright
These isles of the West midst the ocean's wild roar
Scarcely heard the voice of their sovereign before
Our bravest of sovereigns before could scarce bring
These islesmen so proud to acknowledge their king"
Otter certainly forgot to mention that in verity Thorfin had no intention of being made the king's subject. In fact he was given the prospect not to leave Olaf's court alive if he had not done so, whilst his brother Bruse was given two-thirds of the Orkneys and Hjaltland as a fief for his willing subservience. Hence Thorfin with the smaller fief, yet better versed in the trade of war than his brother, did little to organize the defence of the brothers' fiefs. This, however, was about to change a few years later, when Bruse waived his right to one third of the fiefs to Thorfin in exchange for the obligation to defend the islands. Pshaw...politics! These matters were of little concern to the aforementioned Hjaltlander, who was seen unmooring the vessel right now and who was just shouting over to his sons not to forget again to untie the wattle fence and to knot sinkers to the new net.
The archaeological context
The fact that the sheltered Uyeasound fish-trap is similarly built of stone is probably not so much because of a cultural affinity, but due to a more obvious circumstance: It is – as already indicated – due to the total lack of indigenous wood, that the islanders had to rely on stone as major building material. It is also manifested in numerous ruins of Norse longhouses, which are traditionally built of timber, but on the Shetland Islands, they are of stone. Turf was used as heating material - as it is today - and possibly to thatch the roofs of the houses, like in Iceland. Such a precious material like wood was probably only used for tools, weapons, structural elements in buildings and for the repair of vessels. In Harold's Wick there is such a vessel that needs repair. It is the last Scandinavian longship, which arrived in Unst and was - somewhat anachronistically – abandoned as late as 2000 AD by a crew of Swedes and Norwegians in a failed effort to circumnavigate Sumburgh Head at a strong gale. It was attempted to sail to America in Leif Eriksson's wake, but Harold's Wick on Unst became its fateful destination.
It is SKIDBLADNER, a 1:3 scale reconstruction of the 9th century Gokstad longship, which was eventually purchased by the Shetland Amenity Trust. It had been the largest longship before HAVHINGSTEN (the Skuldelev 2 reconstruction) was launched in Roskilde in 2004. In this deserted landscape it appears like a bizarre remnant of a past, immortalised in the collective memory of the islanders' ancestry...a bit lost and unreal like many aspects on these islands. This is also well manifested in the living tradition of Nordic boat-building, such as the clinker-built fishing vessels known as 'whillies' or 'eela boats', 'yoals' and 'sixareens', of which there are some specimen exhibited in the Unst Boat Haven. But basically they could be found in sheds, on slipways or at moorings all across the islands.
Acknowledgment