Before Vikings in Scotland – A Brief History of Viking-Age Archaeology in Scotland

This chapter provides a brief overview of the history of archaeological research in Scotland prior to the publication of Vikings in Scotland in 1998. The main highlights of archaeological fieldwork and research from across Scotland concentrate on those from the Northern Isles, where most of the work had taken place. Key sites include the Brough of Birsay, Buckquoy, the Earl’s Bu, Brough of Deerness, Skaill, Pool and Tuquoy in Orkney, and Jarlshof, Underhoull, Old Scatness, The Biggings and Sandwick in Shetland. Fewer sites were investigated in the Western Isles and mainland Scotland, but the author gives an overview of the scarcer settlement evidence these latter areas, as well as other types of archaeological evidence from across Scotland, including that of pagan graves, Viking-Age gold and silver hoards. In conclusion, interdisciplinary work, considered ground-breaking in the 1970s and 80s, is discussed, an approach that has now become the norm in today’s research into Scandinavian Scotland.