News / Ancient artefacts return
OVER 100,000 archaeological artefacts – including shards of the earliest pottery found in Shetland – have returned home to the isles.
The items, which include finds from a number of sites near Dunrossness, made the journey from Bradford University to the Shetland Museum and Archives.
The pieces were held in nearly 2,000 boxes as they travelled north at the expense of ferry operator NorthLink.
Among the artefacts were pieces of 6,000 year old pottery and stone tools previously found at the Old Scatness site.
The items returned to Shetland soon after the museum and archives were given recognised status for archaeology collection.
Curator of collections at the museum Jenny Murray said she was “delighted” to see the items head back to the isles.
“Now that it’s all here, we can make it accessible for Shetland students, and those visiting, to use in research project and studies,” she added.
“We’ve got a big job to unpack it all and formally catalogue it into our collection, but then we’ll be working on a highlights display of some of the best bits for later in the year.
“It wouldn’t have been possible without the help of NorthLink Ferries covering the costs of the transport for such a lot of material, and we would really like to express our sincere thanks to the company.”
Stuart Garrett, managing director of Serco NorthLink Ferries added: “Shetland has some of the most fascinating and oldest archaeological finds in Europe. Supporting the team at Shetland Museum and Archives to bring these artefacts back to the isles is something that NorthLink Ferries was definitely keen to support.
“We hope that their new home in Lerwick will encourage both islanders and visitors to come and discover more of Shetland’s past.”
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