Cunningsburgh steatite quarries

The steatite quarries of Cunningsburgh on the Shetland island of Mainland are about 19 km south of Lerwick above the A970 . The catpund-burn, with steatite-serpentinite and layers of slate , leads about a kilometer to the east into the sea. South of Mail, a dirt road leads to the quarries. The Scandinavian place name Cunningsburgh means "King's Broch". The place reflects the role of the steatite industry in both the Pictic and Viking ages .

Soapstone in different colors

Steatite or soapstone is soft and relatively easy to work with. From prehistory, containers of various sizes or shapes have been cut out of the stone. In the Viking Age, the Nordic colonists continued the soapstone carving they knew from their homeland. The mining sites can still be seen today.

Aith Voe to the northeast of the quarries is a natural harbor. There is evidence of settlement from the Iron Age onwards, including ogham stones , runic inscriptions and a Pictish symbol stone . The so-called wolf-man is a wolf- headed drawing that may represent a god or a priest with a wolf mask. It is in the Shetland Museum in Lerwick.

literature

• Graham Ritchie, Anna Ritchie: Scotland. Archeology and Early History (= Ancient peoples and places . 99). Thames & Hudson Ltd., London 1981 ISBN 0-5000-2100-7 .

Web links

• Description Engl. + Image
• The old breaks

Coordinates: 60 ° 1 ′ 38.8 "  N , 1 ° 14 ′ 28.8"  W.