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Prehistoric Stone Rings - Discoveries on the Island of Foula, Shetland

September 2008
The final report is now available, and can be accessed by clicking here.

September 2007
The interim report from Foula is now available, and can be accessed by clicking here.

June 2007
In June 2007, having spent a great deal of time over the winter examining the data from the year before, the team returned to the island to carry out an extensive survey of the stones on Da Heights.
The survey was intended to find out if the stones we had surveyed were part of a random scatter of stones throughout the site, to confirm the results from 2006, to check for sub surface stones and to determine the size of all the surveyed stones.


By probing the peat we determined that there are very few stones in the area enclosed by the inner ring and recorded the size and shape of the 49 stones surveyed in 2006 together with another 250 stones which we found this year.


The survey proved conclusively that the stone enclosure in not part of a random scatter of stones but it is man made and similar in construction to others of the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age. The actual date of the construction has yet to be proved, though one shard of pottery has been found buried under 60cm of peat on the floor of the enclosure and should help to provide evidence of a date when the site was in use.


Samples of the peat have been taken for further analysis in the hope that pollen samples may give further clues to the date of the site.


View of the site from the hill behind showing the approximate size and position of the inner stone ring


Plan of the stones which were recorded in June 2007 and the sighting of trenches A and B


Trench A: showing clearly the straight line of the wall on the left (towards the centre of the ring) with the bedrock below it and the collapse downhill to the right


Detail from Trench A: showing how stone 38 would have fitted into the wall before its collapse


Trench B : showing the area of flagstones which were uncovered


May 2006
In May 2006 at the invitation of Foula Heritage, we undertook an eight day geophysical survey in Foula, Shetland.
The island of Foula lies some 15 miles southwest of the centre of mainland Shetland It is approximately 3 miles long and 2 miles wide. The western side is mountainous while the eastern side has lower plains and valleys, more suitable for habitation. Approximately 30 people live on the island.
Three areas were to be surveyed.


The main survey was centred on the North Harrier area with a smaller survey conducted on Da Heights, a few hundred metres to the north-west. A small survey was also carried out on the northern foreshore on a site called Springs which was threatened by coastal erosion.
The main survey confirmed the presence of buried structures in the yard behind Old North Harrier House and burnt mounds in the places stated in earlier work, but also indicated probable prehistoric settlement both on the slope to the north of Old North Harrier House and near the burnt mounds to the west of the Harrier Burn. The flat grass fields below Old North Harrier House were found to conceal a very extensive area of earlier activity.


Harrier Combined Resistivity and Magnetometry Survey (2006)


The geophysical survey on the hilltop at Da Heights showed indications of a building beneath the existing stone planticrub structure and possible traces of a ditch to the south.

Da Heights Combined Resistivity and Magnetometry Survey (2006)


On the final day we carried out a positional survey of some of the stones on Da Heights. This sowed a probable stone ring, possibly with an outer ring both aligned to the winter solstice.

Da Heights preliminary survey of the stones (2006)


In all, an area of approximately seven acres (3 ha) was covered.




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BACAS contact details

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